


The Triangle

by MayRaven1798



Category: Star Trek: The Next Generation
Genre: Androids, Child!Lal, Domestic Fluff, F/M, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Friendship, Love Triangles, Parenthood, Robots, Rowdy Ensigns, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-31
Updated: 2021-03-02
Packaged: 2021-03-06 22:28:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 16
Words: 29,768
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26206438
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MayRaven1798/pseuds/MayRaven1798
Summary: The old story of boy meets girl; girl likes android; and boy doesn’t understand why. Girl discovers she does like boy; but then android discovers he likes girl too.Preview Ch9:Data never would have guessed that he would want a closer relationship with any woman let alone one that his best friend liked first. He had to remind himself that it was probably because of how passionate she was to help him with Lal.“Are you and Geordi sleeping together?” he found himself asking.“Don’t make me throw something else at you,” she scoffed, only mildly offended this time. “Not yet,” she confided a beat later. “I really don’t want to hurt him, like I said.”
Relationships: Data & Geordi La Forge, Data (Star Trek)/Original Female Character(s), Geordi La Forge/Original Female Character(s), Sonya Gomez & Geordi La Forge, Sonya Gomez/Geordi La Forge
Comments: 26
Kudos: 10





	1. Windmills

**Author's Note:**

> Hello readers. This is a pallet cleanser of sorts. It has nothing to do with any of my other stories. I thought I would post it and see if anyone has any interest, or if it’s too over-done. Let me know. Very much a work in progress.

It was a typical day down in Engineering. Lieutenant Commander Geordi LaForge likened the hum of the impulse drive to the comforting heartbeat of the Enterprise. As long as the rhythmic beat stayed in tune he had nothing to worry about. So he found it odd to discover that his friend and colleague begged to differ.

LaForge bent down to get the attention of Lieutenant Commander Data. The android was currently half enveloped inside one of the impulse drive’s access panels. “What are you doing in there, Data?” the Chief Engineer asked his friend’s legs as they were the only part of his body he could address directly at the moment.

“I detected an erratic tone within the regulatory hum of the ship’s impulse drive and I wished to investigate further. My inspection found an almost undetectable power surge,” Data explained. Geordi chuckled to himself at the way the android’s voice sounded hollow as it reverberated through the inside of the chamber and back out to him.

“Is it a real problem, or are you tilting at windmills?” the engineer inquired as he leaned back on the safety rail beside the access panel. He knew that things had been quiet lately and he was beginning to wonder if it was having an effect on Data as well.

The golden android popped his head out of the panel and gave his friend a dubious look. “Windmills, Geordi?” he asked.

“I was just inferring that you were trying to solve imaginary problems,” his friend explained.

“Ah, like Don Quixote,” Data surmised with raised brows, showing his intrigue. “You may have forgotten, but I do not imagine things and I am incapable of flights of fancy,” he added quite seriously.

“Sure, Data,” commented LaForge, unconvinced that there was anything seriously amiss with the drive. He supposed if Data believed there was a problem it wouldn’t hurt to let him finish his adjustments. 

The android’s head and upper torso disappeared once more. The engineer was about to move onto other things when a woman approached him. He didn’t recognize her, but she was accompanied by Lieutenant Worf. 

The Klingon stood off to the side as he introduced the visitor. “Mr. LaForge, this is Ms. Vivienne Grace,” he said gruffly. “Ms. Grace, this is Lt. Comdr. LaForge. He should be able to assist you with the tools and materials that you might require.”

LaForge extended his hand in a friendly manner. “Nice to meet you. I’m sorry if I don’t know what Mr. Worf means by tools and materials,” he said kindly.

The young woman smiled shyly as she shook his hand. She brushed her wavy chestnut hair over one shoulder before replying. “I’m here to install the small zoo,” she said nervously. Then her attention was distracted by the long legs protruding from the hub of the impulse drive. “Is that officer alright in there?”

“Yeah, that’s Data. He’s fine,” Geordi said evenly as he looked over at his friend as well.

“He won’t suffer any ill affects from being so exposed to the inner workings of the drive?” asked Vivienne with concern.

“Oh, no. You see Data is an android. He can withstand the high levels of radiation,” he informed her. 

She looked as though she was about to comment on this new information when Data re-emerged from the opening and closed the panel. He remained seated on the floor as he looked up with mild surprise when he realized that he and Geordi were no longer alone. 

“Data, this is Vivienne Grace.” The engineer took it upon himself to make the introductions seeing that Worf wasn’t exactly very good at it. “She’s here to set up the zoo.”

“Ah, the simulated zoo?” inquired Data as he stood. The woman noted that his movements were very fluid; almost like a dancer. “You specialize in robotics.” It wasn’t a question, but she nodded her reply none the less.

“Mr. LaForge says that you’re an android,” she said with obvious fascination. She was slowly walking around him now and studying not only his face but his body as well. “I would love to discuss your construction and functionality with you sometime,” she said with unguarded eagerness. Then she blushed and seemed to shy away from him a little. “That is if you wouldn’t mind.”

The woman was at least a head shorter than him and he looked down at her with a soften expression. “I think that would be a very mutually beneficial discussion. I have many questions about your use of programming and artificial intelligence,” he said. To someone like her who was unaware of his lack of emotions he seemed to be quite pleased with the idea.

“Ms. Grace, why don’t you compile a list of what you need and send it to me. I can bring the supplies up to the science lab,” said LaForge. He had to admit that he was more than a little interested in the woman and her work. And with things being as quiet as they were he saw no harm in taking advantage of her distraction.

“I happen to have one right here,” Grace beamed as she handed the engineer a PADD. Her lightly tanned fingers brushed against his dark hand and she blushed again. 

Worf rolled his eyes at the social awkwardness of it all and motioned for their guest to follow him back out of Engineering. “So I’ll expect to see both of you gentlemen soon I hope?” she asked politely over her shoulder as she was being led away.

Before Data could reply, Geordi cut in. “As soon as possible,” he said with a flirtatious undertone. The engineer chuckled and sighed as the young woman disappeared into the turbo lift with her Klingon escort. He leaned on the rail as he scanned the list he’d been given.

“Geordi, are you alright?” Data wondered as he observed his friend’s odd behaviour.

“Yeah, Data. More than alright. Why?” he answered, a silly grin plastered on his face. 

“It is only that you appear to be infatuated with Vivienne Grace after only a few short exchanges,” Data noted with a slight frown.

“Sometimes you just meet a person and you get a feeling about them, you know,” his friend told him in a sing-song manner.

Data’s frown deepened. Of course he didn’t know what that was like and found it strange that Geordi would suddenly presume that he would. However, instead of correcting him, Data gave him a vague nod. Then he collected his instruments and went off to file a report on his findings.

......


	2. Great Ape

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Geordi gets beaten at his own game. Not on purpose of course.

Geordi LaForge entered the Science lab that had been assigned to their visiting robotics specialist. He wasn’t sure if she was there at first. Then he spotted her on the other side of the work table. 

Vivienne Grace was kneeling on the floor with a large orangutang between her legs. At least that’s what Geordi thought it was. He’d only ever seen one once in his life and it was years ago when he was still a boy and he was still adjusting to his VISOR.

“That’s one large monkey,” he commented as he came a little closer.

The young woman looked up at him and laughed lightheartedly. “Hello, Mr. LaForge. It’s an ape, actually,” she said playfully. “A great ape if you want to be specific.”

“Well, it’s big enough I suppose,” he added as he put the container of supplies on the work table. He noticed that the ape wasn’t moving, probably due to the fact that she had a hand in an opening in the thing’s back. “Hmm, I wonder if that’s what it looks like when I work on Data,” he said to himself.

The woman turned her focus on him then. “You’ve done work on Mr. Data?” She sounded surprised and excited by the notion. 

“Oh sure, from time to time,” he replied with ease. He didn’t want to make a big deal out of it, but then he realized that maybe this would give them something in common to discuss. “He’s a very sophisticated individual.”

Vivienne stood and leaned on the table. “It’s so wonderful that you refer to him as an individual and not as a machine,” she said with a smile. “I could tell right away that the two of you were friends. It’s delightful really.” 

Geordi could sense her sincerity and never once thought that she was mocking him. Some people could find their friendship a little unorthodox at first and he was glad that she was so open minded right from the get go.

“Data’s one of a kind. I would be crazy not to want to be his friend,” he said with honesty.

The woman gently placed a hand on his forearm before giving it a light squeeze. “You’re not what I expected. Most Starfleet officers are so rigid and serious,” she said warmly. “You’re the Chief of Engineering; I thought you would be dismissive and annoyed with my request to borrow your resources.”

“You can borrow any, or all of my resources anytime,” he said smoothly. Then the woman withdrew her hand and looked away in the same shy way she had earlier. That’s when he knew he’d said something wrong. “Sorry, I didn’t mean for that to sound as creepy as it might have,” he said with humility as he nervously retreated from her.

“Oh, it wasn’t creepy,” she said dismissively. Then she blushed and met his gaze—at least she hoped their eyes met. “Okay, it was a little off-putting,” she confided. “But you noticed right away, so I can tell that you didn’t mean it.”

Geordi let out a breath he didn’t realize he had been holding and was glad that she had accepted his apology. 

Just then Data entered the lab and came to stand beside his friend. He could sense that something was amiss, but had no way of knowing what he had just walked into.

“Is this a bad time?” he asked slowly as he looked from Geordi to Vivienne.

Geordi was about to tell the android that it was when the scientist spoke first. “Not at all, Mr. Data. In fact it’s perfect timing,” she said with enthusiasm. Geordi grimaced that maybe she was relieved that she wasn’t stuck making conversation with him anymore. “I was just about to do a test run on my orangutang.”

The android tilted his head and a ghost of a smile played across his lips. “Please proceed. I have yet to observe any of these exotic robotic automatons in person.”

“Say that three times fast,” murmured Geordi to himself, his mood suddenly stormy. He hated it when Data jumped in and took all the attention. 

“Say what, Geordi?” asked Data, not missing a beat.

“Exotic robotic automatons,” he repeated to clarify. Then he gestured to stop his friend from actually doing what he had offhandedly suggested. “I wasn’t serious, I was just making an observation.”

Vivienne put a hand over her mouth to stifle a fit of giggles. Geordi couldn’t help but soften at her adorable display of girlish behaviour. He loved when woman were not only creative, but playful and sweet as well. Data was right; he was in trouble already and he barely knew the woman.

The scientist crouched down and closed the section on the animal’s back. It integrated seamlessly, much as Data’s outer bioplast did when any of his panels had been opened and closed. Then Vivienne picked up a small PADD that had control settings on it. It appeared to be linked up to send commands to the orangutang. She tapped a few buttons and the ape came to life.

Geordi took an instinctive step back as it took a few steps towards them and swung itself up and onto the table top. It reached out and took one of Data’s golden hands in both of its own. The android was quite enthralled with the whole experience.

“That was superb. Very lifelike,” said Data as he continued to watch the robotic beast. “Geordi, have you touched its hair? Does it feel real to you?”

The engineer looked a little wary about coming closer to the animal. Real or not he was feeling uneasy. “I don’t actually know what an orangutang’s fur feels like, Data,” he told the android.

“I assure you that it does,” offered Vivienne as she patted the orange hair. The ape’s soulful eyes looked up at Data and the two seemed to be having a moment. “I think he likes you,” she mused.

“Can he? Like me, that is?” Data asked with another tilt of his head.

“No not really,” she confided. “All of his behaviours are either preprogrammed, or entered by me directly as he moves,” she explained.

“So what sort of AI does he have?” Geordi questioned as he finally moved closer.

The woman smiled up at him and pressed a few more buttons. The ape turned around and sauntered over to the engineer. Then he paused before clapping his hands while making eye contact.

“The movement and gestures are programmed. The ability to recognize a face and change facial expressions is part of the AI,” she elaborated. “Sometimes he’ll mimic patrons’ moods. It doesn’t mean he feels that way, it’s just part of the experience.”

“He cannot function on his own then?” Data surmised. “He is completely dependent on an outside influence.”

“Exactly,” she concurred. “My guild doesn’t want to create synthetic life forms like you, Mr. Data. We only wish to provide an educational experience. It would be inhumane to have real, living animals kept in confined spaces for extended periods of time such as would be necessary for space voyages.” 

“That’s very responsible and forward thinking; isn’t it Data?” said Geordi as he studied the creature in front of him.

“You referenced your guild,” observed the android. “Does this mean you belong to the guild of robotic engineers that is fully against the Daystrom Institute and its mission to achieve sentient android consciousness?”

“I’m not a particularly political person, Mr. Data,” she began, but the android stopped her momentarily.

“You may call me Data without the formality of using mister,” he corrected her kindly.

“Oh, alright,” she conceded shyly. “As I was saying, Data, I’m a member for the purposes of expanding my reach and improving my skills. I don’t have anything against androids, or the Daystrom Institute,” she clarified.

“That’s a relief,” said Geordi as gave his friend a grin. “Wouldn’t want to have to worry about conflicts of interest. Plus knowing that these animals are nothing more than fancy toys means we don’t have to fight to liberate them,” he added with a chuckle.

A shadow seemed to fall across the android’s golden features as he addressed the scientist again. “Have you ever studied cybernetics yourself, Vivienne?”

Now Geordi frowned at Data’s use of the woman’s first name. It made sense that he would use it since he had advised her not to be so formal, but he still felt jealous. He knew that it was ridiculous to feel jealous. Data would never have any interest beyond the surface of well meaning friendship, but he couldn’t help it.

“I did for a time, but found the moral and ethical implications too disconcerting,” she confessed. “Besides, most cyberneticists spend their whole lives doing research and contriving theories without any real, tangible results. Take you for example, Data. You are the only functional Soong-Type android known to exist. In fact, you are the only android recognized as sentient known to exist.”

“Yep he’s special all right,” Geordi noted a little sharper than intended. Data cocked an eyebrow at his friend’s tone, but didn’t make any comment.

“It would seem that we will have much to discuss then,” the android said as he addressed Vivienne. “I look forward to knowing more about your work and your personal journey.”

The woman grinned and blushed a little as she moved closer to the android. “Do you eat? Maybe we could have dinner together later?”

There it was. Geordi was once again outplayed by his emotionless friend who was undoubtedly clueless to the damage he was inflicting on his delicate ego. The engineer couldn’t help but let his gaze fall to the floor as the wind left his sails. He was behind Vivienne and she missed his display of defeat. Data, however, caught it and hesitated. 

“I do not require sustenance,” he began to say as he watched his friend over the woman’s shoulder. “Perhaps we could meet in Ten Forward and you could have dinner with Geordi while we discuss things,” he concluded as a peace offering.

The engineer straightened his posture at the mention of his name. He wasn’t sure if he should feel grateful, or offended that Data had included him in their potential plans. 

Vivienne looked back at the dark skinned man and smiled. She found him pleasant enough and quite handsome. The idea of spending more time in his company sounded more than acceptable to her. “That would be wonderful; if I wouldn’t be intruding on your evening, Geordi? You don’t mind if I call you Geordi?”

He loved that she’d called him by his first name and he flashed her a smile as though to tell her as much. “I don’t mind at all, Vivienne.”

....

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So what do you think? Let me know in the comments :)


	3. Girl’s Night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some silliness to pass the time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I’ve decided that there are no rules in terms of who can show up in this story. It’s a total disregard to when anyone is serving on the Enterprise in general because I don’t have to conform to ‘guest star of the week‘ nonsense.

Ten Forward was busy that evening. The rumble of voices both calm and excited filled the air as people ate and socialized. Vivienne sipped her glass of red wine as she watched Geordi look over his shoulder for the third time. She gave him a soft smile and waved a delicate hand.

“Don’t worry about it, Geordi. I’m sure Data has a reason for being late,” she said kindly.

Geordi wasn’t worried about the fact that his friend was late. He was concerned that Data wasn’t coming at all. It wasn’t like the android to be tardy and he felt as though somehow they had been set up on purpose. He hoped that Vivienne didn’t see it that way.

“Yeah, of course,” Geordi replied after another moment of awkward silence. Then he pushed his fork around his plate but didn’t actually pick anything up with it.

Just then three ensigns entered the lounge. They were quite loudly arguing about something that Geordi couldn’t quite make out. Ro Laren moved away from Robin Lefler and Sonya Gomez to sit at the bar. 

Robin knocked elbows with Sonya and the two women starting laughing. When Laren protested, her friends took seats on either side of her and continued to make comments that appeared to be rubbing the Bajoran the wrong way.

Geordi was feeling slightly embarrassed by their volume and behaviour. Especially in front of his dinner guest. So he quickly excuse himself and walked over to the bar. 

“Good evening, ladies. Are you aware of how disruptive you’re being?” He asked politely as he came stand behind the three offending officers.

Sonya looked mortified, while Laren and Robin erupted into a fit of giggles. 

“Sorry, sir,” said Sonya sheepishly.

“Yeah, we didn’t mean to interrupt your date,” said Robin with a sly smile.

Laren shot a look over her shoulder and spotted the attractive woman sitting alone at the nearby table. “Huh, she’s pretty. Good for you,” she noted in a teasing fashion.

“I am not on a date,” he replied tersely. 

“Sure, you’re not,” Robin said with slight sarcasm.

“Looks like a date to me,” muttered Laren. 

“Oh goodness, really?” blurted Sonya nervously. “I’m so sorry, sir.”

Geordi gave Sonya a curious look. “Yeah, you already apologized, Gomez.”

“I know, sir. Sorry,” she said in response, only making things more awkward. She winced and closed her eyes, regretting her foolish third consecutive apology.

Vivienne made her way over to the group and sat next to the trio. She looked over and waved at the women. “Hi, I’m Vivienne.”

Sonya’s face was red and she quickly waved back at their visitor as though she was a child on the playground. “Hey, I’m Sonya.”

Robin giggled and shook her head at her friend’s nervous behaviour. “I’m Robin and this is Laren,” she said as she took it upon herself to finish the introductions. “We’re all heading to Holodeck One after this for a girl’s night; you wanna join us?”

Sonya gaped at her friend. “Robbie, she’s on a date,” she whispered.

“No she isn’t,” corrected Geordi with a groan.

Vivienne caught the exchange and shrugged her shoulders. “Sure, I’d love to join you,” she said with a warm smile.

“You can come too, Boss,” offered Robin with a pat on the man’s arm.

“Yeah, we’re not sexist,” said Laren, “We don’t care if you’re not a girl.”

“Yeah, ‘cause you’ll always be like one of the girls to us,” joked Robin.

Then Robin and Laren laughed again. Sonya was sinking lower in her seat, mortified by the two other woman and their blatantly rude attitudes towards a man she held in the highest regard.

“Thanks, that wasn’t hurtful at all,” Geordi grumbled as he began to walk away. 

Not only had Data made him feel insecure, but now his subordinates were too. He was beginning to realize that maybe he was too friendly with his crew and that maybe he should be more assertive with them.

“Hey Geordi, why so glum?” It was Wesley Crusher. He seemed to be heading towards the loud group of women.

“Oh no, not you too,” he replied without actually addressing the young man’s question.

“Me too?” Wesley countered with a confused look on his face.

“Girl’s night,” said Geordi flatly as he gestured towards the bar and the rowdy ladies.

Wesley looked over at the group and then back to the chief engineer. “Oh man, are they calling it that?” he whined. “They did this last time. Told me it was a thing for us ensigns and then referred to me as ‘one of the girls’ all night.”

Geordi suppressed a grin. He decided that it wasn’t all that funny since he’d had the same experience moments earlier. Not that he was offended that they had called him a girl; it was more the mean spirited nature of it. As though he wasn’t appealing enough to be recognized as a potential date. He supposed they felt the same way about Wesley.

“Tough brake,” sighed Geordi.

“Whatever,” he said with a shrug. “They’re still a lot of fun and sometimes when Robin dances she gets overly personal if you know...” Wesley caught himself mid-thought and wiped the stupid grin off of his face. “Never mind. Hey, do you want to come with us, even though you’re not an ensign?”

“Nah, I’m sure they’ll be more relaxed if I’m not there,” Geordi told him, trying to make light of the whole encounter.

“You’re probably right,” Wesley said and then walked the rest of the way to the bar. 

Geordi could hear a cheer erupt when Wesley reached the gathering. He chuckled to himself as he sat back down to finish his barely touched meal. 

He was just taking a bite when Vivienne sat back in her seat and gave him a look that was suspiciously like pity. “Are you really sure you don’t mind if I take off? I hate to leave you if this really was supposed to be a date,” she said.

Geordi sighed inwardly. He had been on enough almost dates to know that if the other person had really wanted it to be a date it would be. So he shook his head. “It’s fine, Vivienne. You’re going to be here for a few weeks and you might as well make some friends,” he told her.

She smiled brightly and left again.

......


	4. Drunk Genius

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The title says it all.

After finishing his dinner Geordi found Data in the cybernetics lab. He had already worked out exactly what he was going to say to his friend while he finished eating alone in Ten Forward. So as he stormed into the lab he was raring to go.

“Where have you been, Data? We waited for you for ages and then we went ahead and ordered because I figured you wouldn’t eat anyways, but our food went cold and you still didn’t have the decency to let us know that you weren’t coming! Then Vivienne dumped me for a group of rowdy ensigns. It was so embarrassing! She probably thinks I’m some pathetic loser who needs his android buddy to set him up on dates!” 

Then he paused in his rant and realized that his friend wasn’t actually paying him any attention, which only made him angrier. “Hello? Enterprise to Data!”

“I heard you, Geordi,” Data answered in a very calm, almost too quiet tone. “I apologize for not informing you of my change in plans.”

Geordi waited a few more moments for Data to continue his apology, or at least grovel a little. But then he remembered that it wasn’t exactly in his programming and he softened a little. 

“That’s really all you have to say for yourself, isn’t it?” he added, mostly to himself. Geordi started to examine what his friend was working on. It appeared to be some sort of schematic that looked eerily like his positronic matrix. “What have you been doing?”

Data looked up from his workstation and pursed his lips. If Geordi didn’t know any better he would say that the android looked guilty. “I have been reviewing the robotic artificial intelligence that Ms. Grace uses in her work and I have been theorizing about the possible ways it could be adapted to Dr. Soong’s work,” he explained.

“You, what!?” Geordi blurted as he leaned down onto the desk. “Why!?”

Data opened his mouth to tell his closest friend his reasoning, but hesitated. Geordi could almost sense him holding back. “Data, you know you can trust me,” he said, calmer than before. “Just explain it. I promise not to get upset.”

“It occurred to me that Vivienne may have a unique perspective on programming and how information is communicated from the central computer—or synthetic brain—to the rest of the synthetic creature’s systems,” Data said evenly. “Even though she claims that everything is preprogrammed and there is no room for independent thinking, I still believe it is worth studying.”

“But why? You aren’t thinking about trying to create another android?” Geordi asked. He hoped that he didn’t sound as apprehensive as he thought he did.

Data remained quiet again for a long time. He saved his progress and shut down his monitor before turning his full attention on his friend. “Not exactly,” he said at last. When Geordi’s eyebrows came together and he crossed his arms over his chest, Data knew he was right to believe that this wasn’t going to go over well. “Before I tell you I want you to remember that you promised not to get upset,” he reminded him.

“Okay, Data. I won’t get angry,” Geordi told him, though he suspected that he would.

“I do not wish to create another android, but attempt to repair an existing one,” said Data.

Geordi’s brows knit together even tighter. “I don’t understand?” As far as he was concerned there were no other existing androids other than Data and Lore. He had to surmise that maybe Data meant to re-program his brother if and when they encountered him in the future.

“I did not destroy Lal as I had stated in my official report to Starfleet and Dr. Maddox,” Data confessed. He didn’t wait for Geordi’s response, but continued to elaborate. “I have had her in safe keeping in case the opportunity arose to repair and reactivate her. Unfortunately, my Father died before I could discuss my experience with her cascade failure, however with the research I have done on his work since recovering his notes from his lab and the work that Ms. Grace and her guild are doing, I believe I may have a very good chance at success.”

It was Geordi’s turn to sit in silence while he mulled over everything he had just been told. He wasn’t entirely sure how to feel about any of it. On the one hand Data had lied, not just to him, but to his commanding officers about Lal’s remains—if they could be called that. On the other hand, Data was telling him about it now. The android hadn’t thought to involve anyone when he created his daughter in the first place. Only Deanna Troi became involved at the time of her activation. 

“This is...a lot,” Geordi said as he moved away from the workstation and put his hands on the back of his neck. “I mean...wow...If this works it would be great and if it doesn’t....I mean there’s so much at stake if it doesn’t.”

“Only for myself, Geordi,” Data clarified. “If I do not succeed no one need know.”

“I’ll know,” he countered with a heavy sigh. He liked it better when his night was all about how bad his not-date had gone with Vivienne.

......

Somehow Geordi ended up staying up quite late while Data went over his hypothetical plans to reactivate Lal. He even went as far as to bring out her failed positronic matrix for them to examine. Geordi was reviewing the reports from when the failure happened all those years earlier when Vivienne wandered into the lab.

Both Data and Geordi looked up at their new friend as she walked over to see what they were working on. “Whatch’you boys doin’?” she asked, a notable slur to her words. Data gave Geordi a curious look when she stumbled a little.

“Um, it’s kinda late, Vivienne,” Geordi said as realized that woman was probably more than a little drunk and shouldn’t be anywhere near the delicate matrix.

Vivienne made a face and helped herself to a chair. “Please call me ‘Viv’, we’re friends now,” she said much louder than necessary.

“You are speaking at an unnecessarily loud volume, Viv,” Data told her while Geordi plugged his ears in anticipation of a reply.

“Am I?” Vivienne shouted. Then she saw how Geordi cringed and made an effort to speak softer. “Sorry. The ladies had the Holodeck set up like a mid-twentieth century dance club. It was super loud,” she said apologetically.

“You sound a little drunk, if I’m being honest,” Geordi added with a disapproving air.

The woman gave him a dismissive wave of her hand. “Nah, I’m fine.”

“I doubt that. Besides, it is 02:38 hours and you have work to do in the morning,” Data told her with a similar tone of concern.

“Geez, is that really the time?” commented Geordi as he reached a hand under his VISOR and rubbed his tired eyes.

“Yes it is. Perhaps we should all call it a night,” noted Data.

Vivienne stood, wobbled, but caught herself. Then, instead of leaving, she came around to loom over Data’s shoulder. The android became suddenly protective of the technology that sat in front of him.

“That doesn’t look right,” she said as she leaned in closer. Data gave Geordi a look that seemed to imply that he doubted the woman had any idea what she was looking at—at least not in her current state—let alone why it would look ‘wrong’.

“Ms Grace, please go to your quarters and get some sleep,” the android suggested a little less than kindly.

The woman rolled her eyes at him dramatically. “Call me Viv, Data,” she said as picked up a tool. 

Before Data could figure out how to safely knock her hand away, Vivienne made a few quick tweaks to the matrix. The android knew that if he hit her hand and the tool was firing it could do more damage than she was already doing.

“Viv, what the hell?” Geordi demanded.

“What? I fixed it,” she snarked as she dropped the tool back onto the table. “You’re welcome.”

Geordi watched Vivienne leave the lab; his mouth hanging open in shock that the robotics engineer could be so presumptuous to make adjustments on something without any pretext to what that something was.

“God, is it okay, Data?” Geordi dared to ask. “I swear I will have her removed from the ship so fast...” 

Data cocked his head to one side and raised his eyebrows. “It is more than okay, Geordi,” the android replied. “I believe that she has actually improved it.”

“What?”

.....

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had this short chapter sitting around since Sept. So I edited it and here it is. I suppose this story is on hold for now. I might come back to it though. Cheers!


	5. The Hangover

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In the light of day Vivienne must face up to what she did.

Vivienne was holding a hand to her forehead creating a makeshift shield against the bright lights of the ship. She wasn’t a light weight by any means, but last night she most definitely outdid herself. As she arrived at her lab she opened the flask she was carrying and took a long drink of water. Her best strategy now would be to keep herself hydrated. She really had no intention of going to Sickbay for a hangover her first week on the job.

Next on her docket was the pink toed tarantula. While she adored the fuzziness of its body and multiple legs, such fine adjustments were not going to suit her well this morning. She was already getting a headache just contemplating the tiny tools she would need to make any modifications; especially to the arachnid’s micro ocular sensors.

So she went to the next animal on her list, a koala. She took another long, satiating gulp of water before unlocking the crate and lifting the marsupial out. She knew her work was meant to be unbiased, but she did so enjoy the cuddlier of the synthetic animals. She had just activated the droid to run her first of several diagnostic scans when Data came into the lab.

“Good morning, Ms. Grace,” he said in a very soft tone.

Vivienne watched him with suspicion. She found his demeanour to be considerate and wondered if he was so keenly aware of the changes in her physical appearance that he intuitively knew she was unwell, or if he had some other way of knowing she was hung over. She briefly wondered if maybe he had seen her dancing in the holodeck and felt a sliver of embarrassment.

“Good morning, Data,” she said quietly. “Did we...did you?” Now that she really thought about it she was sure that she had some memory of seeing him last night. 

Data waited patiently while she tried to collect her thoughts. He watched her facial features as recognition seemed to settle in.

“Did I speak to you last night? Did we meet in my lab?” she asked at last.

As Vivienne stood waiting for his reply the koala turned its head to look at the android officer.

“Did you make it do that?” Data asked distractedly.

The woman looked at him strangely before she realized he was referring to the robotic animal she was holding.

“No...it’s interactive. It gets children more involved with the exhibit if they search out different people from time to time instead of only focusing on one area, or individual person,” she explained.

Then Data recalled she had said something about facial recognition before. It was indeed a clever piece of programming. Even he had been fooled momentarily that the animal had an intelligence.

“Apologies,” he added as he addressed that she had asked him something already. “To answer your question, we met in my cybernetics lab,” he clarified. “You were inebriated and made some unauthorized adjustments to a project I was re-examining.”

The woman’s face filled with horror and humiliation. “No, I didn’t? Did I? Oh no. Did I ruin whatever you were working on? I am so embarrassed,” she rambled with self-depreciation.

“Actually, you improved upon it,” he told her plainly. “I have come to seek further advise, that is if you might find the time in your busy schedule to come and assist me.”

“Assist you?” she asked with a measure of disbelief. 

Here she was, being confronted for meddling with some unknown and probably highly classified, undoubted delicate piece of engineering. But instead of being reprimanded he was asking for her continued involvement.

“When you have time,” Data stated again. “If you would not be opposed to the idea.”

Vivienne shut the koala off and put it down. She was feeling lightheaded and all together dizzy. Then she sat on a stool and put her head in her hands as she massaged her temples with her fingers.

Data observed her behaviour and became concerned for her wellbeing. He tilted his head sideways to try and see her face. She did look decidedly pale.

“Are you unwell this morning?” he inquired politely. “Did you not see Dr. Crusher concerning the side effects of your late night and overt consumption of sythehol?”

“No, I’m good. Just give me a minute,” she told him, unconvincingly.

When she seemed to regain her bearings, Data insisted on showing her what she had contributed to.

Geordi was waiting for them in the other lab. He smiled brightly as the two approached the work table.

“What is that?” asked the robotics specialist as she approached. “Is that a Soong-type positronic matrix?” she added with excitement.

“So you did know what you were looking at,” commented Geordi. He thought back to when the woman had offered her help and he had been so sure she was working blind. Boy, was he wrong.

“When did I look at it? I’ve never seen one in person before,” said Vivienne as she came closer and regarded it—without touching it—with reverence.

“You examined and adjusted it last night,” Data informed her.

Suddenly Vivienne was confronted with what she had actually done. “Oh my God! I touched that matrix while I was drunk!?” She was so mortified that she wanted to die. “Data I am so sorry!”

“It is alright, Vivienne,” he reassured her. “As I told you before, you’re adjustments were necessary and improved it.”

“Yeah, you drunk assisting Data was like the cyberneticist equivalent of getting knocked up,” joshed Geordi. “You know, like when you have crazy drunken sex and get pregnant...only this kid is artificial?”

“That was a terrible analogy, Geordi,” his friend told him, not caring at all for the imagery it inspired.

“Kid?” Vivienne questioned with alarm. “This is a kid?”

“Technically, this matrix belonged to my daughter,” Data explained patiently. “She suffered a cascade failure of her systems and I made the decision to shut her down before the catastrophic effects could completely destroy what was left of her artificial brain.”

“Oh wow...” she breathed, stunned by his story. “And you’ve been trying to repair it?”

“Only recently,” he said with a wary glance to Geordi.

“Isn’t this great though?” Offered the engineer. “I mean, your unique robotic insight might actually help Data finally fix her.”

Vivienne took an abrupt step away from the table. She looked suddenly less enthused and Geordi worried that maybe he had scared her with his overly grandiose implications.

“I can’t help you, Data,” she with a weighted seriousness. “I’m sorry. I really am, but my guild won’t allow me to participate in the creation, repair, or maintenance of this type of sentient AI.”

“Not even as a side project, or as an independent consultant?” pressed Geordi.

“Not even then,” she said with regret. “Look, I really do hope that whatever I did has upped your chances of success, but I can’t be involved any further. Good luck.”

Both Data and Geordi silently watched her retreat from the lab.

“That was not at all what I was expecting,” said Data as he looked down at the sophisticated matrix in front of him.

“Maybe I over did it with the whole making a baby thing,” his friend mumbled, followed by a heavy sigh. “I mean, she’s used to building robots without souls.”

“Do you think that Lal had a soul, Geordi?”

The engineer gave the notion some thought. He liked to think that she had. Hell, he liked to believe that Data had a soul. He nodded emphatically and clapped a hand on the android’s shoulder. 

“We can still muddle through. Maybe even if she can’t be involved you can still pick her brain, so to speak. I mean, it’s not cheating on your guild if you give away secrets during a casual conversation with like-minded people, right?”

Data pursed his lips as he considered the consequences of asking Vivienne to betray her ethical code of conduct. He really didn’t care for it.

“Perhaps in time she can be persuaded to change her mind,” Data replied.

......

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Look an update! I was feeling stuck and thought I would revisit this story...this is my only one that I ever pushed aside. I think I will try to update from time to time. I really like Viv and I so rarely give Geordi the attention he deserves. I will also increase the rating since there has been drinking and maybe some other things might transpire. Cheers!


	6. Flora and Fauna

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Geordi tries again to change Vivienne’s mind.

Geordi felt awful. He was sure that he had come off as totally insane when he got overly excited about Vivienne helping Data. Especially after their terrible dinner engagement the night before.

So he gathered up his courage and went to find the robotics engineer during his late afternoon break. 

He found her on the recreational deck in the civilian permitted area. She was inspecting the progress on the enclosures being built for the zoo installation and she wasn’t alone. Geordi recognized the woman she was chatting with; it was Keiko O’Brien. The botanist seemed to be weighing in on the plant life for the exhibit.

“Hello, Geordi,” said Keiko with a warm smile. “Have you met Ms. Grace yet?”

The Chief Engineer forced a grin and nodded. “Yeah, we’ve already been introduced,” he said flatly.

Keiko could tell that something more was going on between the two and she thought it would be best to give them some space. “Well, I will start on the specs you’ve given me, Viv, and meet you again tomorrow,” she said politely.

“Thanks again, Keiko. Any help is appreciated,” Vivienne said in kind.

After Keiko was gone, Vivienne continued on working as if Geordi wasn’t there.

“Look, I think we got off on the wrong foot,” he began to say.

She gave him a quick side glance with her hazel eyes before making a sharp exhale, communicating her annoyance.

“Mr. LaForge, I am sure that you are a very sweet man and a particularly good friend to Mr. Data, but I really have nothing more to say to you at the moment.”

Geordi was stunned. She was calling him by his last name and literally giving him the cold shoulder as she refused to give him her full attention. Things were worse off than he thought.

“If this is about ethics—?”

She quickly cut him off before he could continue. “It is and isn’t,” she said tersely. “I took what you said very seriously. I do the work that I do because it betters the lives of people; children mostly. But there are no moral repercussions. These robots are not alive. What your colleague intends is to recreate an android—a living, sentient being. While I commend him, I cannot be involved.”

“You’re just being stubborn,” Geordi scoffed. “You’re like a medical surgeon choosing not to assist in a new experimental procedure that could save a life because you’re so used to working solely on cadavers.”

“This is a new life form, Mr. LaForge,” she countered gravely.

“No. It isn’t, Ms. Grace. Consider Lal as being in a constant state of dysfunction. It’s more like she’s stuck in limbo...a comma of sorts. This is not a brand new life, it’s saving one that already existed and deserves the chance to live properly.”

“I can’t help you,” she said firmly. “And if you have any respect for me at all, you’ll stop asking me.”

Geordi frowned and shook his head. “Fine. I won’t bring it up again. If you need anything more from Engineering I would advise that you go through Lt. Barclay. He has a knack for holographic programming, so assisting with your robots should easy for him.”

Vivienne could see and hear the hurt she had caused. She didn’t mean to be destroying their burgeoning friendship, but she could not do what he wanted either.

“Thank you, I appreciate your professionalism,” she told him.

Geordi gave her a curt nod and then he walked away.

.......

Ensigns Gomez and Crusher showed up with Keiko the next morning. She was directing them to where she wanted her planters and irrigation systems installed.

“It’s kinda funny to install real plants in enclosures with fake animals,” commented Sonya to the botanist.

“Not all of them will have real plants,” Keiko clarified. “Some will have reproductions.”

“I think this is pretty cool. I would have loved to have one of these setups to visit when I was kid,” noted Wesley.

“Aren’t you still a kid?” Gomez teased.

Although Wesley was no longer a teenager, the older engineer had known him since he was and never missed an opportunity to bug him about it.

“Ha ha, Sonya,” Wes retorted. “Don’t make me to want to steal the tarantula for a unpleasant surprise later.”

“Geez, there’s a tarantula!?” the woman squeaked, looking around the immediate area with alarm

“Yeah, a fake one,” Keiko reminded her.

“Still...all those legs,” Sonya said with a physical shudder.

Vivienne chuckled to herself as she listened to their banter. She thought it spoke to LaForge’s character that his subordinate engineers got on so well. She was feeling more than a little guilty about how cold she had been to him.

She was brought back out of her thoughts when a light flickered over her head.

“Can one of you please check this fixture?” she asked turning to the two ensigns.

Wesley shyly looked away as Sonya rushed to her aid.

“Does he not like me, or something?” Vivienne discretely asked Sonya, motioning to the young man.

The engineer looked back at her friend and shrugged one shoulder. “Maybe he’s still feeling a little embarrassed about the other night,” offered Sonya as she scanned the light.

“Embarrassed about what?” 

Vivienne tried to recall her time in the holodeck with the ensigns and really couldn’t think of anything. Though, she didn’t exactly have a complete picture of her night and now wondered if she had done something she should be ashamed of.

“He grabbed your ass thinking you were Robin,” Sonya confided. “Don’t you remember?”

The woman let out a bark of laughter. Yeah, she did now. She had returned the favour, making Wesley feel terrible for his mistake, but also a little turned on.

“Don’t worry, he’ll get over himself,” Sonya added with nonchalance as she adjusted the circuitry and corrected the flicker.

“Good. He’s cute, but not really my type,” commented Vivienne in hushed tones. “Plus I guess he’s got it pretty bad for Robin.”

“Oh yeah,” the engineer affirmed. “They are sickeningly annoying when they work together. The only other two officers that I’ve ever seen so in sync are LaForge and Data. Not that they’re involved...I mean, not romantically...not that I know of...they’re like the closest of friends.” Sonya was rambling now, desperate to correct herself.

“Yeah, I got the same feeling about them; Geordi and Data,” said Vivienne, saving the young woman. She thought again about how adamant Geordi had tried to persuade her to help his friend. “Hey, did you know Commander Data’s daughter?”

Sonya slowly shook her head. “No she was with him before I joined the crew,” she said thoughtfully. “I think that maybe Wes did, though.” The ensign turned around to get her co-worker’s attention. “Hey Crusher, you knew Lal didn’t you?”

Wesley stopped whatever he was doing and he met Keiko’s concerned gaze before turning to face Gomez. “Yes, why?” he asked with trepidation.

Sonya didn’t know why exactly their visiting robotics expert was asking, so she too waited for an answer.

Vivienne swallowed nervously as she tried to come up with some logical explanation other than she was acutely curious as to why everyone wanted so badly to fix her. She was not a parent, but if Data truly believed that Lal was his daughter then his desire to reactivate her made sense.

“I um...She came up in conversation yesterday with Data, but it was more in the hypothetical,” she babbled. “I just wondered what she was like as an individual. You know, as to compare an android to one of my robots.”

“Is Data not enough of a subject?” Wesley asked. He wasn’t being unkind, he just didn’t quite believe her excuse.

“Right, yes...well,” she stumbled. “Never mind.”

“Lal was the most genuinely good person I ever met,” he said with frank honesty. “She was child-like, inquisitive and wanted so much to understand—everything.”

“When you say child-like, you mean that she wasn’t a child?”

“No. I suppose technically she was, but she looked like a young woman,” Wes explained.

Vivienne nodded. “And she went into cascade failure...did Data ever learn why or what might have triggered it?”

Wesley took a few steps closer to her. He was starting to think her interest was more than anecdotal. “Starfleet didn’t approve of the two only known functional androids being on the same ship. They wanted her transferred to the Daystrom Institute Annex where she could be studied. I don’t think Data would have let them win in the end, but Lal didn’t know that. She started to experience emotions. Mostly panic and fear.”

“Lal’s systems failed because of a panic attack,” Vivienne hummed to herself as she reconsidered the story. “If what you’re saying is true it’s bullshit like that that keeps me from touching advanced AI. However...it does give me an idea. Thank you, Mr. Crusher.”

“You’re welcome, Ms. Grace,” he replied, not really knowing what he done to deserve her thanks.

“If you guys are good to keep working I’ll come back in a few hours,” Vivienne said as she headed for the double doors.

“Sure, I’ll come find you if there are any problems,” said Keiko.

“Great. Wonderful,” Vivienne said with cheer.

“You certainly made her happy,” noted Sonya to Wesley.

“I don’t know why, do you?” he countered with uncertainty.

“Nope, not a clue,” she replied.

.....


	7. Co-Parents

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Vivienne has come up with plan and she is eager to share it with Data. Geordi is not so easily swayed.

It was about ten days later and Vivienne Grace was taking a well earned reprieve from her zoo project. The Enterprise had just completed another away mission and the senior officers were ready for some down time as well.

Data hadn’t had much time to revisit his ambitions to restore his daughter. He was strongly considering putting the project on hold again when the chime went on the door of his quarters. 

“Come,” he called as he rose from his workstation.

Vivienne stopped just inside the door to greet him. “Hello, Mr. Data. I wondered if you had a few minutes?”

The android gestured for her to take a seat in his lounge area. He noticed the woman was carrying a PADD with her. They hadn’t spoken much at all since she outright refused to become further involved with his work.

“Firstly,” she said as she sat on his sofa, “I want to apologize again for any hurt feelings.”

Data inclined his head towards her as he took a seat next to her. “I am not capable of feeling slighted. I understand your need to separate yourself from creating something that may require more involvement on your part than routine maintenance.”

“Right, exactly,” she agreed. “But then after LaForge came and spoke to me I couldn’t stop thinking that maybe I was being too stubborn about it.”

“Geordi spoke to you?”

“Later that same day...he was trying to smooth things over and make me see reason. I’m afraid I still declined to become involved.”

“And now?” 

Vivienne handed him the PADD and tapped the screen to reveal a schematic. Data reviewed the information and was surprised by what he saw.

“I also talked to Mr. Crusher,” she explained as he continued to absorb what was happening. “I basically came to understand that your Lal was going to be taken from you because of arrogant men who wanted to disprove your parental rights.”

“This is...this is the schematic to build a child sized robot,” Data said with uncertainty. 

“I’ve decided that maybe our paths crossed for a reason and I want to do what I can. In theory, a more acceptable form of child android who has the potential to grow and adapt over time would be seen as exactly that; a child. And if my name gets attached to her all the better. It’s much harder to argue custody of a child when there are two parents to claim responsibility.”

“You...you would put your guild membership on the line to help me create one android?” He sounded both amazed by her compassion and hesitant to accept her offer.

“Yes, I would,” she said kindly. “And I wouldn’t ask to be more involved with her development than whatever you were comfortable with. Think of me more as a silent partner.”

“I do not know what to say,” he murmured. 

She misinterpreted his speechlessness as reluctance. 

“Look, think it over. I know having her look more like an eight year old than a young woman is a big ask. It means more of your time and a lot more work over the years to upgrade her as she grows. But I love working that way and it’s not something I get to do very often, if at all.”

Data stared into her eyes for a moment. She thought he looked rather sad and she was preparing herself for his rejection. Only he didn’t say anything. He leaned in slowly and wrapped his long arms around her, hugging her close.

“Thank you,” he said softly beside her ear. “This is so very generous.”

“You are so welcome,” she breathed with relief. 

It was easy for her to forget that he was an android built by a scientist like herself. His embrace felt so real, so affectionate. When he moved away again, however, he still looked deeply sad.

“What’s the matter?” she asked, running a hand up and down his arm in an attempt to comfort him.

“I still have yet to resolve the problems with her matrix,” he confided.

“Oh right.” She knew that answer and felt foolish that she could have forgotten. “Well, I think as we make the adjustments to adapt her processors to my style of robotics we should slowly, but surely resolve any residual programming issues in her systems.”

Data glanced over her diagrams again. “You propose to create a hybrid between the Soong-type and Devol-type?”

“I like calling my creations Devol-Grace...like a pun. Devil’s grace? You know, angels and demons?”

The android furrowed his brow as he nodded. “I suppose she will not look quite as human.”

“On the contrary,” she said with insistence. “You saw my orangutang.”

A small smile pulled at the corner’s of Data’s mouth. “When shall we get started?”

“Do you have time now?” Vivienne nudged with renewed enthusiasm. 

“Can we please tell Geordi first?” he inquired, knowing his friend would never forgive him for leaving him out of the process this time.

She grinned. “Yes, of course. You can tell him that I finally listened to his advice.”

They stood together, but before they could leave Data turned and briefly hugged her again. She couldn’t help but smile at how happy she had made him. Of course Data would deny that he was happy if anyone said as much.

......

Geordi met the pair down in the cybernetics lab. He was surprised when Data had asked him to come down. He was even more surprised to see Vivienne.

“Hey, what’s going on?” he asked warily.

“Ms. Grace has designed a blueprint to built a new android body for Lal,” Data explained with a ghost of a smile. “And it is all thanks to you.”

“To me?” Geordi questioned as he looked to Vivienne.

“You were right, Geordi,” she said with humility. “I should have been helping all along.”

“Oh really,” he said lyrically, crossing his arms in front of his chest. “I was right?”

“Is he always so annoying when someone admits they were wrong?” she asked Data.

“Not always, however, I would concede that on occasion he can be a bit smug,” the android replied.

“Smug? Really, Data?” his friend countered. “Wait...did you say a new body? I thought that her matrix was the problem?”

“Her matrix does still need thorough testing and perhaps some reprogramming; however, Viv has designed a child’s body for Lal to grow with.”

“A child’s body? What; why?”

“It’s highly unlikely that a child will be taken away like some tool, or object,” Vivienne explained. 

“Okay...but what about the argument of having two androids on one starship?” he wondered

“She will be classified as a minor in need of guardianship and tutelage,” Data noted.

“Okay...then what about when someone tries to classify you as incapable of being recognized as that guardian because you are also an android?” Geordi added. He didn’t want to be the bad guy, he only wanted to be sure they thought everything through.

“That’s where I come in,” said Vivienne with a clever grin. “And you—if you would like, Geordi. See if we are involved in her design, construction and execution then Data doesn’t have to rely on his claim alone. We can be considered as co-creators and have a say in how she is treated and where she ends up.”

“You mean we can act as the human intelligence behind the android,” he surmised. “Effectively adding weight to our ownership.”

“We can co-parent as much as Data needs us to, but in reality he will still be her father,” she rambled. “But if those Starfleet stiffs are going to play hardball again—then yes; you and I can claim patented technology and have legal rights to her design and execution.”

“I would very much like you to become involved this time, Geordi,” said Data with appreciation. “It would mean a great deal to Lal’s success.”

“So, we design, build and activate her together; based on Vivienne’s design and Soong’s original tech?”

Data handed him the PADD so that he could review the specs. “It would be a combination of Soong and Devol technologies.”

Geordi nodded as he looked everything over. “Clever, but will it work?” he pressed.

“Only way to know for sure is to try,” stated Vivienne.

“Don’t you have a zoo to finish installing?” Geordi wondered.

“I have a few final tweaks and then it’s open for viewing as of tomorrow afternoon,” she told him. 

“Look, Viv, this is great, don’t get me wrong,” the engineer said in earnest, “But maybe Data and I should discuss this first.”

Vivienne tried not to look offended. She knew he had every right to want to talk things over first. After all, Geordi and Data had been friends for years and she was just some person they barely knew. So she nodded and began backing out of the lab.

“You can ask me anything, anytime,” she said with a smile. “I will be available, as well as any and all my resources,” she added, echoing Geordi’s own awkward come on.

The Chief Engineer smirked at her choice of wording. He was still quite attracted to her even after she had been so dismissive. He was starting to think that maybe he should cut her some slack. She was admitting that she wanted to help and her ideas were solid. He just didn’t want Data to get his hopes up before they knew the collaboration would work.

......

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sourced from Wikipedia:
> 
> ***George Charles Devol Jr. (February 20, 1912 – August 11, 2011) was an American inventor, best known for creating Unimate, the first industrial robot.[1][2] Devol's invention earned him the title "Grandfather of Robotics". As recognized by the National Inventors Hall of Fame,[3] "Devol's patent for the first digitally operated programmable robotic arm represents the foundation of the modern robotics industry."


	8. Other People’s Children

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Vivienne is reconsidering her future, especially after Geordi gives her the nod to proceed in helping Data with Lal.

The zoo was all set. There were lemurs, a Komodo dragon, a macaw, and a fennec fox. There was also a spider monkey, a pair of fruit bats, a giant millipede, and of course the koala, tarantula and orangutang. 

Vivienne’s favourite was the baby kangaroo. She carried the joey around in a sling while she did her final checks. She had been told that there were currently twenty-six children on the ship, most of which were under the age of twelve and would most likely visit the exhibit more than once. 

The scientist smiled to herself as she set the joey down and it hopped away from her. She hoped that Geordi and Data came to an agreement and her automatons would still be up and performing when Lal was back online. 

Keiko O’Brien came in to see if anything was needed from her end. She was carrying her baby girl in her arms. Vivienne was happy to see her first official visitor. She scooped up the little kangaroo and brought it over to them.

“Vivienne, I would like you to meet Molly,” Keiko said softly.

“Hi, Molly,” she said with delight. “Would you like to meet my baby...well, baby kangaroo?”

The mechanical animal was very obedient and stayed fairly still while Molly reached out to touch it. 

“How old is she?” Vivienne asked.

“Thirteen months,” said Keiko, sounding a little tired.

“Well, thank you for all your help. I had no idea you had a little one at home.”

“No worries,” replied Keiko. “Motherhood takes a lot of time and energy, but I still love what I do. Just because I have a kid doesn’t mean I can’t contribute.”

Vivienne could tell that the botanist wasn’t miffed at her. It sounded more like an argument she had with someone else; her husband perhaps.

“I hear you. She is so sweet, though. I would find it difficult to be away from her for too long.”

“It isn’t easy,” the other woman said in agreement. “But I want Molly to grow up knowing her mother was important.”

“And she is,” mused Vivienne as she placed one the little girl’s hands on the joey’s ear. Molly giggled and babbled with glee.

“You seem to be friends with Mr. LaForge,” she asked after a moment. “Does he ever babysit?”

“Geordi, nah,” Keiko told her. “He’s honestly too busy. Sometimes Data offers. Though so far we have only had playdates when I’m there. I wouldn’t want the poor man to have to deal with one of Molly’s meltdowns on his own.”

Vivienne liked the way this intelligent woman referred to Data as a man. Clearly, they were good friends. 

“The Enterprise seems like a wonderful place to live,” she commented.

“Why? You thinking of moving here on a more permanent basis?” asked Keiko with interest.

“Nah,” she countered dismissively. “I mean...how would a person even do that? I presume if you’re a civilian you either need to have relevant work, or be married to an officer?”

Keiko could tell that her new friend was fishing. She chuckled before answering her quite seriously. “Yes, exactly. You would need to have a fairly legit reason for setting up shop, so to speak. Have you met any eligible bachelors we could fast track you with? What about Geordi? I know you two were in a bit of a tiff, but I bet it was ‘cause he likes you.”

Vivienne paused to consider the idea of Geordi as a prospect. She did like his kind nature and how protective he seemed over his friend. “I suppose I could ask him out, assuming we’ve made up. I guess Data doesn’t date?”

Keiko shifted Molly on her hip and gave it some thought. “I don’t think I have ever seen him date anyone. Even when he attended my wedding, he came alone.”

Vivienne frowned, mildly disappointed to hear her answer. Not that she would admit out loud to her attraction to the android, but he had been on her mind quite a lot these past couple of weeks. What sort of person was he? Just because he was a good hugger did that mean he was also a good father? Was she making a mistake taking such a risk to help another man’s creation create another synthetic life? That sort of thing.

“I suppose he’s too busy to feel lonely,” Vivienne noted casually.

“I don’t know if he can even feel loneliness,” added Keiko. “He is definitely social enough, though.”

“That’s good. An antisocial android can’t be a good thing,” she said with a nervous laugh.

......

That evening Geordi came to find Vivienne in Ten Forward. He brought her a drink as a peace offering.

“What is it?” she asked, full of nerves.

“It’s this weird Vulcan thing that Guinan mixes up. It’s really good,” he told her. Then he smiled as she took a sip and hummed her approval. “It’s good right?”

“Really good,” she assured him. “So does this mean I’m in?” 

Geordi sat down next to her and chuckled at her eagerness. “Yeah...I guess so,” he said, still sounding unsure.

“Geordi, come on!” she pleaded, dramatically.

“Yes. You’re in. Data is pretty hard to dissuade once he gets going with a project. And as far as he is concerned this project won’t happen without your schematic.”

“Well, hey. Even if you froze me out, Data can keep my blueprints. What would I ever do with them?”

“Yeah, but he wants you to be hands on to make sure your tech melds seamlessly with his. To be honest, it all started sounding like reproduction to me.”

Vivienne had to take another long sip of her drink. She wasn’t sure if that was sitting well with her either. She still preferred the art of her moving objects to the idea of creating a new life. The risks were so much greater and the devastation of failure was insurmountable for her to even begin to conceive.

“But she’ll be his kid,” she said firmly, keeping her anxieties to herself.

“Right...with your new additions,” he pressed.

“I just hope it works. I mean it’s like trying to fuse a Starship with a Bird of Prey or something.”

“Let’s hope it’s not that complicated,” he joked.

“It’s Data right?” she added with confidence. “He seems quite capable of doing almost anything.”

“Even Data has his limits, Viv. He did lose her the first time,” Geordi said with regret.

“Right...I almost forgot,” she muttered.

“You hungry?” he asked, suddenly desperate to change the subject. “Did you eat yet?”

“I haven’t eaten yet. I suppose I was waiting for a charming man to join me,” she said as she leaned in closer.

“Are you flirting with me, Ms. Grace?”

“I was trying. Was I that bad?”

He laughed lightheartedly. “No, no. I was just making sure.”

“Well, you did bring me liquor, so I thought you might reciprocate,” she said with a mischievous grin.

Geordi didn’t want to mess things up this time so he kept what he thought was a clever reply to himself. Instead he called the waiter over to take their orders. Maybe tonight their not a date could actually become one.

......

The next day, after getting the zoo up and running, Vivienne met with Data in the cybernetics lab to discuss their plan of action. They had already been working away for most of the morning when Data began to talk of more personal matters.

“I spoke to Keiko O’Brien earlier and she told me about your conversation,” Data informed her, casually.

“Oh, which conversation was that?” Vivienne countered with nonchalance.

“The one where you showed interest in remaining on the Enterprise,” he clarified.

She was taken aback for a few seconds. She had no idea why such a thing would come up. It was so random at the time. Then she became concerned that they were all checking up on her intentions behind her back. She only hoped that Geordi didn’t think that was why she was finally warming up to him because she genuinely had a good time at dinner.

“If you’re worried that I will start throwing myself at your colleagues, don’t. I’m not that kind of woman.”

The android raised his brows at her. “Throwing yourself?” he questioned, unfamiliar with the term.

“Romantically...to try and trick one of them into marrying me,” she explained. “I’m only here for a few more weeks and even I can’t work that fast.”

“I never thought that you would,” he said plainly. “I was simply going to tell you that I too had given the notion some thought. Especially if you are serious in your desire to stay.”

She was staring at him again. “Do you want me to stay?”

“We have been getting on well and when Lal is functional I would very much like her to know you. It would only be logical that if she forms an attachment to you, one of her creators, that it would be beneficial for you to remain on board so that you can continue to foster your relationship. That is if that is what you would want?”

“I think I would want that too,” she confided with a grin. “But how can you trust me?”

“When I was debating with Geordi whether or not to allow you to assist me—us—I did some research. I know that you grew up in a household with two parents. You are the middle child, though your older brother was relatively older than you and consequently you may have felt more like the eldest of two siblings. Your younger sister is a biologist, while your brother is a JAG officer with Starfleet. Both of your siblings have partners and children. One of which, a niece, you fitted with a prosthetic hand two years ago. A cybernetic enhanced hand.”

“So you caught me. It wasn’t technically my design,” she admitted.

“Yes, however it proves to me that you have a working understanding of how the human nervous system works in term of cybernetics. A positronic brain replicates the human brain in how it functions—.”

“Mimicking the human nervous system, I know,” she finished for him.

“While I appreciate and commend your work with robotic automatons, I am left rather confused that you would waste your talents,” he said, making his opinion known.

“Well, now I’m not,” she said, deflecting his comment. “I mean, if I was working for some prestigious institute like Daystrom then I wouldn’t be here now, able to collaborate with you.”

While her argument made a sort of sense, it still didn’t really convince him. 

“So, Data, how would you arrange for me to stay?” she inquired, getting them back on track.

“I suppose I would apply to keep you on as a qualified companion to assist in Lal’s care and development.”

Vivienne tried desperately to read his face and failed. She wasn’t sure if he meant a companion for only his daughter, or for him as well.

“What, like a nanny?” she prodded. 

“I was thinking as more of a specialized caregiver. I am Second Officer of the Enterprise. Having a full-time caregiver for my child is within my rights.”

“But I would go from robotics specialist to au pair,” she concluded with a frown. “I don’t even have any early childhood education training.”

“Lal will not require it. She will look like a small child, but she will not be one; not entirely.”

“But you should let her be one; if she wants to.”

Now Data was giving her a quizzical look as he gazed into her eyes. He decided she was not wrong. “You are correct. I want Lal to live as she would like to. If looking like a child inspires her to explore what it is to be one, then I will not interfere.”

“You probably didn’t have a childhood, did you?” she said, making an educated guess.

“Not as such,” he said bluntly.

“Then maybe you can both benefit,” she said with a whimsical lit. “Sometimes one of the best things about being a parent is learning to play with your children.”

Data could already tell that this woman was going to continue to surprise and intrigue him. “It sounds as though you know from experience?”

“Only as an aunt,” she said with a smirk. “It is nice to be with kids that you give back at the end of the day.”

“For the first several weeks, Lal will require scheduled down periods where she can rest and process her newly formed subroutines among other things.”

Vivienne couldn’t help but giggle at his need to placate her. “That’s too bad.”

“Oh? How so?”

“I was already picturing you tucking her in at night,” she mused.

“Lal is barely off the drawing board, as it were. I find it difficult to make the leap as of yet.”

“You will...I know you will,” she said with a confidence that he wanted to trust.

......


	9. A Certain Brand of Affection

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Work on Lal is progressing and so is Vivienne’s relationship with Geordi, much to Data’s surprise.

Since Data didn’t require sleep, or rest he worked on Lal as often as he could. He diligently followed the schematic that Vivienne provided and began assembling the framework and preliminary neural network for her spinal chord and limbs. 

Geordi was the most occupied with routine maintenance scheduled on the impulse drive and nacelles. He had to oversee the multiple engineering teams and track their progress. So, Vivienne was happy to assist in his absence as Data’s assistant, though most of the time she would simply watch him work on his own.

She could easily hand the zoo over to one of many exobiologists on the ship. They would give tours and such. Vivienne tried to convince the Second Officer once or twice to allow her to continue working when he was on active duty, but he wouldn’t budge. She knew he wanted to be accountable for every intricate detail of Lal’s construction, so she tried not to take it personally.

One morning she arrived, after her routine check on the zoo, to find that Data had been up all night covering the new android’s endoskeleton with muscle-like fibres and even had some bioplast installed in some places. The most astonishing addition was that Lal now had a face. It still lacked any remarkable features, but for the first time she was starting to look like a human child.

Vivienne came to stand in front of the android girl while Data worked behind her. She leaned down to get a closer look and smiled. 

“She’s so pretty,” she commented, mostly to herself.

“You sound surprised,” noted Data.

She made a face and waved him off. “Is this how she looked before?” she asked, referring more to the structure of her face than anything else.

“More or less,” he explained. “Since I allowed Lal to choose her appearance in her first iteration, I considered allowing her to do the same again. However, I decided that she would have enough repercussions from her initial failings that perhaps a familiar appearance, although altered to reflect her new age, would be best.”

“You let her choose what she looked like?” Vivienne countered with amazement.

“Yes, she almost decided upon a Klingon persona,” he said with slight whimsy.

The woman smiled brightly and touched the supple synthetic skin of Lal’s cheek. She could clearly see that her skin tone was only a shade off from her own tanned, olive under-toned pigmentation.

“I thought she was much paler before,” she noted, thinking of the notations she had read about her previous descriptors.

“I found that I wanted to give her some resemblance to you,” said Data with nonchalance. 

She locked eyes with him. “Why; she is your daughter?” she asked with interest.

“The other day I was contemplating what you said when you agreed to assist me. That Lal could rely on you for parental responsibility. So I have given her your Mediterranean complexion.”

“Is that what I said?” she wondered out loud. “Well, I can see that this is not just a project for you. She is a true labour of love.”

“I am incapable of experiencing the emotion known as human affection,” Data informed her as he continued on in his task.

“Why would you say that?”

“Because it is true.”

“But who told you that you couldn’t experience love?”

“I did,” he said frankly. “I have no emotional capability. I currently have no programme or means to convey or ‘feel’ emotion.”

Vivienne scoffed and shook her head. “I’m sorry, Data, but just because you lack a tangible tracking system to notify you about something doesn’t mean that it isn’t plausible.”

“I do not follow.”

“Data...Lal is a failed experiment, technically speaking,” she explained without malice. “So why would a highly logical, rational and unemotional person without sentimentality waste his time and resources after all this time to fix a broken project? Why not simply start over?”

“Because...I do have..,” he paused and looked away from her.

“Sentimentality? Love? Because she’s your daughter?” she listed, proving her point.

“Yes,” he confirmed without hesitation. It was rare for someone new to really see him the way she did and he could tell that he was starting to really understand her too.

“See. You are an emotional being. Maybe not the same as humans, but you know what you know and you shouldn’t deny the truth about yourself.”

Data gave her one of his lopsided grins as he came to the same conclusion. He was also starting to realize that he was coming to appreciate her and her company more and more. The thought of having her as his partner was becoming more natural. So much so that he wondered if maybe she felt the same.

He was about to ask her for her thoughts on the matter when Geordi came into the lab. He came up to Vivienne and the two kissed briefly in greeting. It was definitely not what the android had been expecting.

“Hello, Geordi,” Data said plainly as he watched his friend smile.

“Hey, Data. How are things going? Lal looks great,” Geordi said with enthusiasm.

Vivienne caught the sudden change in Data’s demeanour and wanted to explain things. “Geordi and I have spent several evenings getting better acquainted. Dinners and such.”

“You are dating,” said Data. It was not a question, more of an accusation.

“Yeah, sorry buddy,” Geordi said with a frown. “Didn’t I tell you?” he added as he put an arm around Vivienne.

“Not as such,” he said, refraining from saying anything more. Clearly, he did not understand Vivienne like he thought he did. Because, clearly, she had no interest in him beyond their work together. Though he did wonder when Geordi found the time to start courting her.

“What, you aren’t bothered are you?” his friend asked. “I promise not to distract her. I know how much she’s been helping you.”

“I cannot be bothered, Geordi. I only hope that the two of you find happiness together. Ms. Grace is only going to be on the Enterprise for two more weeks.”

“Well...I am looking at extending my stay,” she said with a measure of awkwardness. “You know, like we talked about, Data; because of Lal and all.”

Geordi of course was enamoured and was sure that his new girlfriend meant him—he was her all. He gave her another kiss and she very willingly reciprocated. When they parted Data was at his computer console running through his latest readings.

“We’re going to grab lunch,” announced Geordi. “You wanna join us, take a break?”

“No thank you,” answered Data without looking up. 

“Geordi, why don’t you save us a table,” said Vivienne as she caressed her boyfriend’s face. She rubbed some lipstick off his full lower lip with her thumb. “I just want to finish up something before I join you.”

Geordi agreed and left the lab. Data gave her an auspicious look, knowing that she had only just arrived and had not been involved in anything yet.

“Data, are you okay?” she asked as she approached him.

“I am functioning within normal parameters,” he replied without looking up.

“Okay...it’s just that...you seemed a little annoyed when you found out about me and Geordi being a couple. I know it’s new and I know that you’re probably protective of your friend, but I promise I don’t intend to hurt him.”

Data looked into her eyes then. He was sure that he was in the wrong now, if she thought his concerns were for his friend. 

“I know that your intentions are good, Viv.”

She wasn’t sure if she believed him for some reason, but she shrugged off her worries and started for the door.

“Is it okay if I come back later? I promise to actually do some work,” she said with a strained smile.

“Of course. I look forward to your return.”

“I do so like working with you, Data. I have honestly learned so much,” she said sincerely.

“I too have become accustomed to your company. Please enjoy your lunch and I will see you there after,” he said with kindness.

.......

After lunch Data was still unusually somber. Vivienne let it go at first. She thought maybe she was reading something that wasn’t really there. She worked diligently on the little android’s hands, installing every fingernail and ensuring each one was linked into the network so that Lal could choose to grow them if she wanted to. It was such a tiny, possibly unnecessary function, but it was still important to her. More than that it was important to Data.

She was smiling wistfully as she worked and Data suddenly wanted to know why.

“Did Geordi say something particularly amusing during your date?” he inquired.

Vivienne looked over at him and had to think about it. “Why, was I giggling?” she asked in return.

“No, though, you were smiling,” he explained.

“Oh...no. I wasn’t thinking about Geordi, exactly.”

Data waited for her to continue, only she didn’t catch on right away until she realized he was watching her still.

“Oh, right,” she said abruptly. “I was just thinking about fingernails and how babies are born with the tiniest, lovely little nails.”

He raised his eyebrows and gave her a half nod. He had never really considered such a thing before. “Are you approaching an age where your biological clock is reminding you that you have yet to have any children?” he asked, unsure.

“That is a very rude question, Mr. Data,” she said with a mock pout. 

“Is it? My apologies,” he stated bluntly. “I suppose some women can extend their years of fertility is they so desire. I suppose you are only thirty-four and still have several years before you need to be concerned.”

She picked up a piece of synthetic material she wasn’t using and threw it at him. It bounced off his bicep and he gave her a confused look.

“Rude, Data,” she scoffed. Then she started to laugh warmly, showing him that she was only poking fun. “At least I will have Lal accredited to my name. A sort of surrogate daughter.”

“Yes, this is true,” he affirmed as he observed her. “Hers should be an easy birth on your part.”

She laughed again at his joke and he was suddenly struck with the need to memorize her laugh and how she looked in that moment. The dimples in her cheeks and the crinkling by the corners of her eyes; as well as the lovely blush tinting her skin.

“You’re so funny,” she mused, her eyes dancing. “Geordi said you were, but I wasn’t so sure.”

“You really like him, I suppose,” Data said softly.

“What’s not to like? He’s handsome and intelligent and so very kind. His team loves him and so does his best friend, I imagine.”

Data was about to correct her when he recalled their earlier conversation when she insisted that he was quite capable of love. “Yes, Geordi is an exceptional person. He always sees the best in people and tries to bring it out in them when possible.”

“I know. I mean, look at what he’s brought out in me. I was never going to dabble in cybernetics and here I am with you.”

The android looked coyly away. “Yes, here you are with me,” he repeated with a hint of reservation. 

He never would have guessed that he would want a closer relationship with any woman let alone one that his best friend liked first. He had to remind himself that it was probably because of how passionate she was to help him with Lal.

“Are you and Geordi sleeping together?” he found himself asking.

“Don’t make me throw something else at you,” she scoffed, only mildly offended this time. “Not yet,” she confided a beat later. “I really don’t want to hurt him, like I said.”

“Do you think having intercourse will harm him?” Data inquired, misunderstanding her.

She blushed deeper and rolled her eyes. “No, you literal weirdo,” she teased. “I don’t want to get too serious before I’m sure that I’ll be staying longterm.”

“Would it not be prudent to have sex so that you know if the relationship is worth your commitment?”

“Geez, who have you been hanging out with?” she questioned with annoyance. “Relationships are built on more fundamental, meaningful things than sex.”

“Apologies. I suppose Commander Riker is not a very good resource for understanding committed coupling.”

She laughed out loud and grinned. “No, I would say not. Ro Laren had some interesting things to say about that man.”

“So you believe in monogamy and do not prefer short, passionate flings,” he deduced.

“Exactly. I had enough of those in my twenties and I’m still single. Geordi is the sort of man you don’t meet everyday and I want to be sure I deserve him.”

“Of course you do,” he assured her. “You too are warm, kind and inspiring. I have not heard anyone speak ill of you in your time on the Enterprise; and as far as I can tell you value family and honesty. You give your time and yourself freely. I believe that you are a very good match.”

“For Geordi,” she said, suddenly unsure if he didn’t mean for himself.

“Yes...for Geordi,” he echoed.

She got up to stretch her legs and she could feel him watching her. “Do you think you’ll ever want to settle down and marry someone special?” she asked, watching his reaction out of the corner of her eye.

“Perhaps one day,” he answered honestly. “For now, I have my work, my friends and soon I will have Lal to care for once again. I do not want to over-extend myself.”

“Well, we wouldn’t want you over-extended,” she remarked playfully as she walked back towards him.

Data stood up as she came to stand in front of him. “I have mentioned your desire to stay on board past the limits of your contractual obligations to my captain,” he told her with a soft sultry air she wasn’t used to. “He is amicable to allow you to stay, of that is still what you want.”

“You know that it is,” she hummed. “I want to stay to be with you...and Lal.”

A lock of her dark hair had fallen in front of her face and he wanted to reach out and tuck it behind her ear, but he didn’t. For the first time he was concerned that his actions were not appropriate, especially considering he had never offered to assist any of his other female colleagues with their unruly hair.

A moment later and she took care of it herself. “Back to the hands,” she declared, their strange moment of near intimacy over.

He stood unmoving as she crouched down on the other side of Lal and went back to work. In a way he was glad that she was involved with his friend. This way he would not be tempted to try something with her. He wasn’t even that sure of what that something would be.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So...thoughts? I am so enjoying the slow build of this one.


	10. Cocoa and Red Lipstick

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Geordi gets two surprise visitors. One woman he knows well, but can’t date. The other woman he can date, but can’t quite figure out.

Geordi declined the invitation to join his ensigns on their weekly night out; or as they called it ‘girls’ night’. He turned in early, mildly disappointed that Vivienne had chosen to indulge in their unbridled shenanigans over a quiet night with him.

He was just turning in, heading for his bedroom when the chime went on his door. As it slid open, he was intrigued to find Sonya Gomez standing there with a thermos. She was in her pyjamas, robe and slippers, just like he was.

“Hey Boss,” she said sweetly. “I was sitting in my quarters all alone and I suddenly thought that maybe you were too. So then I thought maybe we could be alone together.”

He gave her one of his big grins and invited her in. “No girls’ night for you?” he teased as they wandered over to his sofa. 

He got out two mugs and placed them on the table so that she could pour them both some of the cocoa she had brought over. He didn’t even need to ask to know that was what was in her thermos. 

“Nope. They party too hard for me,” she said with honesty. 

Her comment made him frown a little. He wondered vaguely if Vivienne’s social nature would become a hurdle in their romance. He was comfortable being open and friendly at work, but he was a homebody at heart and enjoyed his quiet time when he could get some.

“I guess we have that in common,” he told her kindly. 

“To introverts,” she cheered as she handed him a mug and raised hers up. 

He willingly clinked their mugs together and laughed. Then he took a sip of the hot, comforting liquid chocolate. Sonya always made the best hot cocoa; it was her grandmother’s recipe. He could taste the hint of cinnamon and cayenne pepper that made it sing. 

“This is so good,” he hummed. “Thanks for thinking of me.”

She blushed a little, maybe it was from the heat of the peppers. “Oh gosh, I’m always thinking about you, Boss,” she said sweetly.

He raised his brows at her and chuckled. “Oh yeah?” To him her comment sounded more amorous than she was probably intending.

“Oh...no. I mean, I worry about you. You work so darn hard,” she said, rushing to correct her indiscretion. “You deserve a little TLC sometimes.”

“Thanks, really. That’s sweet that you worry, but I assure you I’m fine,” he countered.

“Right...you’re dating Viv now,” she said distractedly, sounding as though she didn’t exactly approve.

“You don’t like her?”

“Oh, no...she’s great. I just don’t know...well, never mind. None of my business.”

Geordi had a soft spot for the young ensign and he really wanted to know what she thought. “Go on, I can take it, Sonya.”

“It doesn’t matter,” she said with an awkward smile before hiding her face behind her mug and taking a long drink.

“Gomez, come on,” he prodded.

“She’s lovely. So pretty and confident...nothing like me. I suppose I envy her really,” she babbled. “I mean, she was on the ship all of five minutes and she got your attention. Sure it took her a little longer to realize how amazing you are. You’re so smart and funny and calming in a crisis; and handsome of course...” She paused and put her mug down. “I’m sorry...I don’t know why I’m listing your attributes. You asked me about Vivienne.”

Geordi could already guess why. He was well aware of her crush on him and was ever hopeful that it would pass. Not because he wasn’t interested, but because the Chain of Command dictated that he wasn’t allowed to be. She was his subordinate and they both knew it would be a huge no-no to mess around. So, they slowly found a comfortable friendship, one he would never trade for anything.

“It’s fine. I can’t deny that hearing an attractive young woman, such as yourself, tell me how wonderful I am isn’t a turn on,” he joshed.

She giggled despite her anxieties. He was so good at making her feel okay about her silly crush on him. “I just think that maybe she’s too unsettled for you.”

“Well, she is really keen to stay and assist Data with his new project. I don’t think she’ll be leaving anytime soon.” He was careful to leave Lal’s name out of the conversation since very few people knew that she was the project that they were working on.

“Oh, wow,” she said in surprise. “I didn’t realize she had a reason to stay. Not that you wouldn’t be a reason, but we all know how people come and go around here.”

“You know Gomez, sometimes I seriously think about transferring you to another department,” he said whimsically.

She fixed him with a hurt look until she absorbed his real meaning. She had to admit that she had often fantasized about transferring as well. “Oh...oh yeah, like where would you send me?”

“I don’t know. Maybe to serve under Chief O’Brien, or something.”

“Gosh, you know how I feel about transporters. Warp drives are my passion, Boss.”

He chuckled, knowing he could never do something like that to her. He would rather see her everyday and foster her career than selfishly move her just so they could date. 

“Well, as long as no one gets suspicious of your late night cocoa visits,” he added lightheartedly.

She laughed openly and tapped his forearm for teasing. “Hey, if Data is your work husband, why can’t I be your work wife?” she joked nonsensically.

“I don’t think that’s how that dynamic works, Gomez,” he kidded. 

“Whatever. I don’t care,” she stated as she picked up her mug and topped it off.

.....

It was much later when the ensigns left the holodeck. Vivienne fell into a fit a giggles when she caught Robin and Wesley making out by the turbolift. They didn’t even break apart when they heard her, they just kept going at it while Robin eloquently flipped her the bird.

Laren came to stand with her and she rolled her eyes and curled her lip. “Ugh, I could use some black coffee to sober up. Raktajino would be best,” she said, turning away from the pair of lovebirds.

“I dunno, I might see if Geordi’s still up,” slurred Vivienne. 

“I doubt it,” the Bajoran commented. “I love the guy, but he is so stuck in his routines. If he isn’t burning the midnight oil in Engineering then he’s asleep by now.”

Yeoman Fitzgerald offered to accompany Laren to Ten Forward and she accepted.

“Night,” she called as they wandered away. 

Vivienne waved them off and then passed on taking the same lift as Robin and Wesley. While she was waiting on the next lift she thought about checking to see if Data was still working in the lab. 

She made her way down and spotted the android sitting at the cybernetics computer. The little android was hooked up to it and it looked as though he was updating some of Lal’s software. Her high heeled shoes were echoing off the hard floor, so she slipped them off her feet one by one. Data lifted his head and watched her. He found her fascinating. Even when she performed the most mundane actions he was intrigued.

“Hey,” she whispered, knowing that she was probably going to talk too loudly due to the music from the holodeck.

“Hey,” Data greeted in kind, recognizing her mildly drunken state from a few weeks earlier. “What are you doing here, Viv?”

“Just wanted to say goodnight,” she fibbed.

“Lal is not conscious as of yet,” he informed her, thinking back to an earlier conversation where she mentioned tucking his daughter in at night.

She shook her head and lifted her shoes up. “Not her, you, silly” she corrected him. 

She came over to his side and leaned down to place her heavy head on his shoulder. Then she wrapped her arms around him and gave him a squeeze; her shoes narrowly missing his face as she swung them.

“Goodnight,” she hummed as she looked up into his yellow eyes dreamily.

Data was caught off guard and didn’t really know how to react, or what to do. As far as he was concerned she was his best friend’s girlfriend and her behaviour must be inspired by her drunkenness. These thoughts did not, however, keep him from staring at her bright red lips. 

“Goodnight, Vivienne,” he replied politely.

She furrowed her brow and pulled away a little. “Hey...Data. You ever think about changing your name? You know to something more...human?”

“No,” he promptly answered, unsure of why she asked.

“Okay,” she hummed. 

She kissed his cheek, eliciting a smacking sound of skin on skin. A moment later, she snickered in his ear when she saw the perfect red lipstick kiss she had made on his golden skin. 

“Sorry,” she said, giggling some more. “Red is a nice colour on you, though.”

Data had no idea as to what she was referring, so he tried to catch a glimpse in his computer screen. He could just make out the lips now imprinted on his cheek bone.

“Do not worry. I will remove it before I leave the lab,” he assured her, hoping she wouldn’t try to wipe it away like she had with Geordi the other day. For some reason he wanted to discourage her from being too easy with such intimacies.

“Okay,” she mused. “Goodnight.”

“Goodnight,” he said again. He was beginning to wonder how many times they were going to go around.

She removed herself from his personal space and waved at him with her hand that was still holding her heels. She giggled again at how ridiculous she must have looked. He waved back and smiled, slightly tempted to keep her there to see what else she might do.

“Goodnight, Lal,” she said lovingly as she passed by the little android and continued on her way.

Data opened and closed his mouth a few times, but decided not to remind her that Lal couldn’t hear her. It really didn’t matter. A few moments more and she was gone again. He thought about alerting Geordi to the state of his girlfriend and then recalled that he probably knew about her plans and therefore was aware already.

.....

Vivienne ended up at Geordi’s quarters a little after oh-one-hundred hours. He came to the door looking a touch dishevelled. 

“Viv, what are you doing here so late?” he asked with a yawn, eyeballing her shoes as they hung from her fingers.

“I thought maybe I could come in and we could fool around,” she said seductively. 

“Why aren’t you wearing your shoes?” he asked, quirking his head to one side.

“You know, didn’t want to twist my ankle,” she said. It was basically true. She didn’t know why, but she didn’t want to tell him about going to see Data first.

She managed to get him to take a few steps backwards, but once she was in his cabin she could see that they were not alone. Sonya was sleeping on his sofa, curled up with a quilt.

“Oh, wow,” she whispered, “Sorry. I didn’t know.”

“We were just hanging out. Nothing happened,” he said quietly.

“Don’t worry,” she added reassuringly. “We never said we were exclusive. I like Sonya, she’s cute.”

“No seriously, nothing happened. She’s my subordinate. We’re just friends.”

“Geordi, relax. I don’t care,” she said with ease. Then she frowned and needed to clarify. “No...I do care, but like I said...we never said we were exclusive. Heck, I never even asked you if you were seeing anyone else.”

“Well, I’m not,” he told her firmly.

“Okay,” she conceded, choosing to believe him.

“Here, let me convince you,” he said suggestively. 

He pulled her close and kissed her in a way that left her breathless. She hummed her approval into his mouth as she dropped her shoes to the floor with a thud.

Sonya stirred. She realized what was happening and tried to hide under the quilt. Although she knew that she shouldn’t be spying, it was really hard to look away. She was feeling both embarrassed and stupid for thinking she could compete for Geordi’s attention with her hot cocoa. He would probably never want to kiss her like that.

When they parted again they were both smiling from ear to ear. 

“I want to fuck you so bad right now,” Vivienne murmured with lust.

“We shouldn’t,” Geordi said, trying desperately not to give into her.

“Why not?” she pouted. 

“Because you’re sort of drunk and Sonya is sort of on my sofa,” he explained.

It was hard to argue. He had a solid case. So she kissed him one more time and squeezed his ass with both of her hands. This time he made noises of approval, but they came out as groans.

“Tomorrow,” she whispered. It was not a question.

He nodded and grinned and then handed her back her shoes. She snickered and left. Geordi leaned his back into the closed door and sighed. 

Sonya got up and grabbed her thermos. “I should go too,” she muttered, averting his gaze. 

“Oh, hey. I hope you’re not upset. I honestly thought you were sleeping,” he said with a measure of guilt.

“I was...it’s fine. It’s late, though, so I should go home.”

“Okay, well...Goodnight, Sonya,” he said tenderly.

“Goodnight, Geordi,” she replied softly.

.......

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to all the lovely readers sticking with, or discovering this story for the first time! This is still a work in progress I would love any feedback and comments:) I might increase the rating as the story progresses.


	11. The Secret is Out

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Picard finds out about Data’s secret personal project. Geordi gets to tell Vivienne that she has permission to stay.

The next morning, Captain Picard had called all senior officers to a briefing for their next mission. From the moment they sat down, Geordi’s attention was distracted by the strange smudge he was picking up on the left side of Data’s face.

Counsellor Troi noticed how the engineer was staring at his friend. She tried to discern what had caught his eye, so to speak, but couldn’t see anything. Either he was staring due to something of a personal nature, or there was something on the android’s face that only the man’s VISOR could pick up.

As the meeting was winding down, Data requested a quick word with the captain. Everyone else left the room except for LaForge and Troi. The four of them sat closer together before continuing.

“Sir, have you come to a decision in regards to allowing Ms Vivienne Grace to remain on the Enterprise past her contracted period?”

Geordi was eager to hear his answer as well, having argued in her favour already.

“I have been mulling it over, Mr. Data, however I would feel more at ease if you could divulge more about this personal project you have her assisting you with,” extrapolated Picard.

“I have only met her briefly,” Deanna added, “But I feel that she is genuine and everyone she has interacted with has had nothing but good things to say about her.”

“Oh, I’m certain that she is a people person, Counsellor,” Picard responded. “But can she be trusted with more sensitive technology such as Data’s?”

“Captain, I have never said that I was experimenting, or constructing anything android related,” Data interjected.

“No, but that is my concern. You have yet to say anything about the nature of your work. It worries me that the last instance you were so very tight lipped was when you spent several months building your daughter in secret. I can only presume that your desire to secure Ms Grace, a robotic engineer, more permanently must pertain to something robotic.”

Data looked at Geordi for guidance, not knowing if now would be the time to come clean. 

“Sir, if I may,” began Geordi. “Sir, Data has long hoped to repair Lal. Vivienne came up with several out of the box methods that may make that a tangible possibility.”

“May make, Mr. LaForge, or is making?” prodded Picard.

“Is making, sir,” confessed Data on his friend’s behalf. “She has been redesigned as a child as to offset Starfleet’s desire to remove her from her guardians’ care.”

Picard pinched the bridge of his nose and heaved a terse sigh of frustration. “And whom pray tell are to be her assigned guardians?” he question, doing his best not to fly off the handle.

“Myself,” stated Data promptly, “As well as Geordi and Vivienne for a human element if needs be. Vivienne has the legitimate and legal rights to her technology.”

“Her technology?” asked Deanna. “Is she not still based on Soong’s design?”

“Her positronic brain is,” he explained. “However, her body and adapted systems are a hybrid.”

“And you knew about this?” Picard accused, directing the question at Geordi.

“Yes, sir...I actually encouraged her to help Data in the first place,” he replied. “We didn’t know how things would go, but so far things are proceeding quickly with great success.”

“Is she conscious?” asked the empath, intrigued.

“Not yet,” said Data. “I was hoping to come to you for assistance when I was ready to begin reintroducing her to her friends.”

“Captain?” Geordi could tell that Picard’s blood pressure was up and from the way he was reading him through his VISOR, he was like a volcano ready to erupt.

“Fine,” he said simply, keeping his temper in check. “I presume that you already vetted her credentials and you both trust her implicitly.”

“Yes, sir,” Data and Geordi said simultaneously.

“I will...extend her welcome on a trial basis,” he conceded. “But I caution you both to keep her in check. It may seem as though you were the ones to encourage her involvement, but there is always room for doubt and suspicion in my books. While I respect your rights as Lal’s father, Data, I do not know if Starfleet will. And Vivienne may seem like the plausible answer to this dilemma, but she could easily be planning to take her from you as well. Just be careful and tread lightly.”

“Yes, sir. Thank you, sir,” said Data with a ghost of a grin.

“Oh...and don’t declare LaForge and Grace as the girl’s parents,” Picard added with importance. “It might stir up a whole AI fundamentalist debate about human parents laying affections on AI children. Just treat her like technology and make sure she is legally defined as their property. I know it is vulgar, but I sternly believe that this is the safest and cleanest way to ensure her safety.”

“Yes, sir,” replied Geordi.

“Are we done here?”

“How long will her trial period be for?” pressed Data.

The captain sighed again and closed his eyes as though to calculate an appropriate number in his head. “I will give her one month beyond her contract. It will be her responsibility to ensure that her zoo is taken down and sent on to the next destination.”

“Of course,” said Data. “Thank you sir.”

“And one last thing,” stated Picard as he stood. “I want to be first to meet your Lal when she is ready for socializing.” He gave the android father-to-be a warm smile and then took his leave.

“That went rather well,” said Deanna. She caught Geordi staring at Data’s face again. “Okay, you have to tell me, Geordi. What are your looking at?”

“Are you looking at something?” asked Data as he turned to regard his friend.

“Yeah, Data you have this perfect kiss embedded in your cheek. You can’t see it, Counsellor?”

“No,” Deanna told him as she squinted to be sure. She saw nothing.

“It must be the residue from the oils in her lipstick,” offered Data. He placed a hand over the spot on his face where he had received the kiss.

“Who’s been kissing you, Data?” Deanna teased playfully.

“It was Vivienne Grace and it only happened the one time,” he told her.

“Viv kissed you?” Geordi wasn’t sure how he felt about this news.

“Yes. I believe that she is what you would call an affectionate drunk.”

Deanna giggled and Geordi frowned. He thought about how worked up she had been when she came to his quarters and he didn’t like to think about the possibility that she could have seen his friend first. He seemed to have forgotten that he was the one who did most of the seducing.

“Did she visit you last night?” he asked.

“Yes. Only briefly. I made sure that she did not touch anything this time. Do not be concerned.”

“Sure, except her lips to your face,” grumbled Geordi with sudden jealousy.

“If it makes you feel any better she also almost hit me in my face with her stilettos,” Data informed him.

“I really need to start hanging out with this woman,” Deanna mused, mostly to herself. She sounded like she knew how to have fun.

“She did?”

“Yes, she does not seem to have personal boundaries when she has been drinking.”

“Does she drink a lot?” Now Deanna was getting worried that this woman had a problem.

“Not that I can see,” Geordi explained. “She’s gone on two outings with the ensigns from Engineering and they may get a bit carried away.”

“Well, then maybe we should discourage her drinking if she’s going to be helping with Lal,” surmised the empath.

“I agree,” said Data. “I do not mind if she goes dancing, but I would prefer she kept her wits about her.”

“Yeah...me too,” added Geordi.

......

Geordi went to find Vivienne to let her know the good news that Picard was going to give her another month to stay. He arrived at the zoo installation and stopped in the doorway. Sonya Gomez was chatting with his girlfriend and he suddenly felt weird and awkward.

Sonya had a lemur hanging off on of her arms. She was laughing lyrically as it looked up at her with it’s large orange eyes from it’s upside down position. 

“How do you deal with people who want to buy one for themselves and take it home?” Sonya asked Vivienne cheerfully.

“I simply explain the semantics of having such a sophisticated piece of tech and how arduous the upkeep would be,” the other woman explained. “It’s not exactly true, but it’s not exactly a lie either.”

“Got it,” said Sonya, knowingly.

Although Geordi was relieved that they seemed to be having an innocent discussion he was still unsure if the previous night’s events had come up.

“Hello, ladies,” Geordi greeted them. 

“Hey, Boss. Want to hold a lemur?” offered the ensign.

“No thanks, I’m good,” he said waving her off.

Vivienne chuckled at his reluctance. “You know for an intelligent man who spends so much of his time with his android best friend you are surprisingly closed minded when it comes to my robots.”

“I just don’t do well with animals. You should take it as a compliment really,” Geordi told her. He added one of his sparkling grins to try and win her over.

Vivienne appeared to let him off the hook. She took the lemur from Sonya and placed it back into its enclosure.

“What’s up?” prompted Sonya, now that she was free again.

“Oh, I actually came to speak to Viv,” he replied nervously.

“Of course you did...that’s why you came here,” noted the young woman. “Well, I’ll go and give you two your privacy.”

Vivienne watched Sonya retreat. “What was that about? I thought she worshiped you?”

“Worship is a strong word,” Geordi deflected.

“Hmm, I beg to differ. I even suspected that I might find her in your company last night. And low and behold I did,” she rambled.

“Yeah, well she was awake when we made out, so she’s probably feeling a bit weird about it.”

“She seemed fine to me. In fact, she showed up over an hour ago to assist me with the irrigation system and then stayed to chat. I don’t think you have to worry about her, she still adores you.”

“Why? What did she say?”

“Oh nothing...it was girl talk,” she insisted.

“Girl talk?” he prodded.

“Oh you know...we discussed hair styles, shoes...brassieres.”

Geordi blushed slightly. “Okay...fine. Girl talk.”

“Oh you’re so cute when you’re flustered,” she mused. Then she came closer and kissed him on the lips.

He smiled wistfully and remembered why he was there. “So, my captain has given his permission for you to stay for another month as a probationary period.”

Vivienne smiled and clapped her hands. “That’s fantastic. Does Data know?”

“Yes. He was there when we found out. I have to warn you that Captain Picard is not exactly ready to trust you. The only reason he’s letting you stay is because Data and I convinced him of your value to Lal.”

“Thank you, Geordi. I promise to behave. I won’t even party with the girls anymore if that will help my case,” she said diplomatically.

Geordi couldn’t help but laugh, thinking about how Ensign Crusher was one of those girls. “Good, I think that would be best.”

“Me too. I feel like any day now Data will be ready to activate Lal. I just don’t know if I’m ready yet.”

“Lal is very amicable,” he reassured her, giving her another brief kiss. “You’ll have no trouble winning her over.”

Vivienne wanted to trust that he was right, but for all intents and purposes she would be a new person in her life and after her last experience she didn’t want to stress her out simply because of her implied role.

“So, when do you start taking down the enclosures?” he added.

“In ten days. I can’t believe time has gone by so quickly,” she told him.

“So tonight...you wanna come by my quarters?” he propositioned.

Vivienne flipped her hair back and encircled his shoulders with her arms. “I would love to come by your quarters,” she purred. Then she kissed him more passionately than before. “But...you know, there’s a supply closet close by that only I have the code for...if you were interested?”

Geordi pulled back to give her a look an auspicious look. “Oh yeah? How big is this closet?”

“Oh, it’s big enough for two,” she said suggestively.

It wasn’t like him to do something so spontaneous, or possibly against regulations. But Geordi would be lying if he hadn’t been thinking about Vivienne since last night.

“Lead the way,” he said, lowering his voice.

......


	12. Baby Steps

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lal has her first moments with her father as her new self. Geordi and Data have an odd conversation about the chief engineer’s love life.

They collectively held their breath as Data entered the activation sequence. Once completed he turned and nodded. With one final silent prayer, Geordi disconnected the wiring to the small android’s head and he closed up the panel to conceal her inner workings. 

For so long Lal looked like a life sized doll. As Data flipped her hidden switch, her eyes fluttered open. Vivienne and Geordi hung back, out of her direct line of sight, and watched with anticipation as Data spoke to her first.

“Good morning, Lal,” he said brightly. 

The child android looked up at him without any expression on her face. She blinked once and then twice. Geordi put an arm around Vivienne’s back and held her close with the excitement of it. 

“This is so great,” he said into her ear.

“Nothing’s happened yet,” she whispered.

“She blinked,” he whispered back, thrilled. “Data had to teach her to blink.”

A smile pulled at the corners of her mouth. She was so happy for him; for them both.

“Good morning, Father,” Lal replied at long last. Then she lifted her hands to examine them. “Father, my physical appearance has been altered and my voice sounds different as well.”

“Yes, Lal. If you search through your newly installed physical reference files you will understand,” he said evenly. “These programme files should assist you to adapt your motor skills now that the dimensions of your physical form have been altered from that which you were accustomed to.”

“I understand,” she replied simply. 

She seemed to be taking a few moments to review the files he had instructed her to. Geordi was still pleased with how things were going. She hadn’t moved much, or said much, but she hadn’t instantly crashed either.

“How are you doing, Lal?” Data asked her as she continued to analyze her new situation.

“I am functioning within normal parameters, Father,” she said with ease. “Though I do wonder why you have chosen my appearance for me.”

“We wanted to assure your best chance at remaining functional and to remain in my care,” he explained.

“We?” she questioned with a slight furrow to her brow.

“Yes, Lal. Myself, Geordi and Vivienne,” he told her. “I will introduce you to Vivienne soon. It was her idea to rebuild you as a child.”

“Did I fail? Was I broken?” she wondered.

“You were, however you are now functional again.”

“Thank you, Father,” she said with a ghost of a smile. “And thank you for restoring my memories. Has it been very long since I was last activated?”

“It has been almost three years,” he said with a hint of sadness.

“Have you been terribly lonely?”

Data wasn’t sure how to answer her. She should recall that he is fairly unemotional. “Although I did miss your presence, my friends have kept me company,” he replied.

“Good,” she said, taking one of his larger hands in her two small ones. “I am glad that you were not too sad.” 

“I am so very pleased that you are doing so well. I believe it would be best to end our test and allow you some down time so that your systems can assess, analyze and store our brief encounter.”

“Of course, Father. Please do what is necessary to ensure my functionality,” she said, sounding so mature and rational beyond her years.

Data was suddenly inspired to lean in and place a kiss on her forehead. “Goodbye, my daughter. I will wake you again soon,” he said softly.

“See you soon,” she said with affection. She let go of his hand and stood ready. A moment later, her father placed her into her rest mode.

He walked off of the platform and came to stand with Geordi and Vivienne. Geordi came closer and embraced him with a bear hug.

“You did it! She sounded so great! So with it!” he rambled, no longer able to contain his happiness.

“We did it,” countered Data as he patted his friend on the back and looked into Vivienne’s hazel eyes. She blushed a little and had to turn away from him.

.......

Geordi, Data and Vivienne went back to the Chief Engineer’s quarters to celebrate. Geordi snagged a bottle of champagne from Guinan, hinting that they had a secret that she would soon understand.

Although Guinan didn’t care for secrets, she loved sharing in other people’s joy. She had just the thing, something that might actually be strong enough to influence the android if he indulged as well.

Geordi had only just popped the cork when a call came in requesting Vivienne’s presence at the zoo installation. She made her apologies and bowed out.

“I hope it is nothing too serious,” Data noted with a hint of concern.

“I’m sure it’s nothing,” said his friend. “Although I’ll be glad when her installation comes down in a couple of days and she can focus completely on Lal.”

“I agree. Though, I think she will be focusing on you as well. To that end, I believe I will take my leave when she returns,” said the android. “I can tell that you have other ideas in mind for your personal celebratory acts.”

“Data!” If Geordi didn’t know any better he would swear that it sounded as if his usually disinterested friend was encouraging him to do intimate things with his girlfriend.

“What did I say? Do you not wish to have sexual intercourse?”

“Oh wow,” Geordi huffed with embarrassment. “Um, sure, but you don’t have to say it out loud.”

“This is not your first night together, is it?” Data didn’t know why, but he was still stuck on wondering where they were at in their relationship.

“Not at all,” he confided. “We got a little delayed, even though she did show up drunk at my cabin the other night. But I didn’t feel good about it. You know, I would have liked her to be clear headed. Plus, Gomez was here, sleeping on my couch. We have managed to find the time here and there, if you know what I mean.”

Data did know what he meant and he wanted to be supportive, but one thing about his friend’s statement caught his attention. “Why was Miss Gomez asleep in your cabin?”

“We were hanging out...we were talking and it got late,” Geordi rambled, trying to excuse the odd happenstance.

Data poured them both a glass of the bubbly liquid as he considered events again. “Geordi...if you have romantic feelings for Sonya Gomez and you are intimate friends already; why are you dating Vivienne instead of her?”

“Chain of command. I can’t allow my personal feelings, or relationships affect my decision making.”

“I do not understand,” Data said thoughtfully. “Sonya is one of your most capable officers. I know that if you chose to promote her before anyone else it would be on her own merits. You are also quite unconcerned in sending people to do the duties required of them. If you were to date someone like Sonya, I believe that your success rate is considerable for a long-lasting, mutually satisfying relationship.”

“So you think that I should date Sonya?” Geordi questioned, unsure why Data would care either way.

“It is only my opinion, however, if I analyze what I know of both of you individually and of how much of your off-hour time you spend in one another’s company...I would have to say that I do.”

“Well, thanks for your opinion, but I think I want to see where this thing with Viv is going. I really, really like her and between you and me; the sex is spectacular.”

Data did his best not to flinch at the latter part of his comment. “Do you think perhaps that your statement could be biased by your physical and hormonal attraction to her? I simply mean that you have more in common with Sonya.”

“Geez...Data...I thought you liked Viv? I thought you would’ve grown fond of her, spending so much time together,” Geordi said dishearten by his comments. He took a swig of his champagne before continuing. “I mean...I thought you trusted her enough to introduce her to Lal and have her help with her care when you’re busy.”

“I never said that I did not like her, Geordi. I simply have my doubts about whether, or not she is a good match for you.” Data knew he was lying. In fact, he had told Vivienne the exact opposite not that long ago. 

Geordi knew Data better than anyone and he was starting to get the impression that something was up. “Data...do you like Vivienne? I know we never really talk about you dating, but if you suddenly developed an attraction to her you would tell me, right?”

The android blinked a few times and took a gulp of the champagne. The bubbles tickled at the back of his throat and he coughed a few times to clear them.

“You okay?” Geordi asked. He wasn’t exactly asking about his coughing.

“I am fine. Perhaps I was being too pessimistic,” said Data, retracting his previous concerns. “I do not really have a frame of reference for romantic love and as Deanna often says, ‘the heart wants what the heart wants’. If you do not have any deeper feelings for Sonya it would be foolish to change your dynamic. Forget I said anything.”

“Yeah, but do you have deeper feelings for Vivienne?” Geordi prodded, thinking of the kiss on his cheek.

“I do not have any feelings whatsoever,” Data assured him, lying again.

“Okay...’cause you’re my best friend. If you found yourself with a profound attachment to my girlfriend I would want you to say something. You matter more to me than she does; you get that right?”

“Yes, Geordi. And you matter to me as well.”

“So...if me and Viv continue to get physical it’s none of your concern?” he asked, using very android like terminology.

“None in the least.” Another lie.

“Okay...good.”

“Good.”

It wasn’t until the next day that Data ate his words.

..........

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Is Data lying only to Geordi, or maybe to himself as well?


	13. Caught up in a Moment

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Vivienne interacts with Lal and is overcome with joy. Data is overcome as well.

“Lal, this is Vivienne Grace,” Data said, introducing the girl to her benefactor.

The little android quirked her head to one side as she gazed up at the woman. “Vivienne, did you know that your name is rooted in the Latin word Vivianus meaning living, or alive. It is perhaps destiny that a person of such a name helped to restore me.”

The robotics specialist paused. Even though she helped to build Lal’s new body and had seen her in various stages of her construction it was still easy to forget that she was a sentient and highly intelligent android because of her appearance. At least until she opened her mouth and spoke.

“Yes...I think someone told me that once...I mean about the meaning of my name,” she rambled. “I’m pleased that I was able to help to restore you.”

Lal seemed to be reviewing something internally as her eyes unfocused. “Many of my system failures have been corrected and repaired because of you and your design. Therefore, you should not be so modest. I would say that more than helped.”

Vivienne was at a loss for words. “Sure,” she conceded.

“Father,” Lal said sweetly turning to Data. “Father, should I now be calling Vivienne my mother?”

Data looked from his daughter to Vivienne. The woman looked pale and shocked to hear such a question. He remembered his captain’s warning and decided not to indulge her sentiment yet.

“No, Lal. I do not believe that Vivienne is comfortable with that term. Although, I am certain that she can appreciate the kindness of your offer.”

“Maybe one day,” Vivienne said softly as she crouched to eye level with Lal, “but I want to earn your trust and affection. For now, if you’d like, you can call me Viv.”

“Okay, Viv. It is much like my name. Two consonants and one vowel,” she said innocently.

“Yes, I suppose it is,” the woman agreed.

Now that they were acquainted, Vivienne wanted to check the little android’s functionality. 

Data stood back, watching in wonderment as she ran through a series of tests. She challenged Lal’s motor skills like they were playing a game. The first looked reminiscent of the hand gestures in Patty-Cake and the second looked as though they were doing the Hokey-Pokey.

Lal seemed to approve of her new mentor and never questioned the robotics specialist, or her oddball routines. 

“Okay, now touch your nose with your index finger,” the woman instructed. 

“This one is easy,” said Lal in her new childish lit. 

She performed the exercise first with one hand and then the other. She was flawless and it made them both quite happy. In fact, Lal seemed more at ease with the small gestures and expressions of her subtle emotions. She even giggled along with Vivienne as she twirled her around to test her balance.

“You are very silly,” Lal said playfully.

“I’m glad you think so,” replied Vivienne. “Children should know how to be silly. If I teach you no other new skills, I will be proud if I can teach you silliness.”

Then without thinking, she gave Lal a hug. The girl seemed to understand the gesture and when they parted Lal went over to her father to hug him as well.

“A hug is a physical expression of affection, Father,” she said sweetly. “I think I like it very much.”

Data held her lovingly and looked at Vivienne with gratitude. Then it was time for the young android to rest and recuperate after all of her activity.

“That was so awesome!” Vivienne cheered with amazement. “I have never had one of my creations speak to me before, let alone dance with me, or hug me!”

She was feeling lighter than air and a touch dizzy from the experience. She began hugging Data, too full of happiness to contain herself.

“I adore her! She is so wonderful!” she continued to ramble. “Thank you! Thank you, Data, for sharing her with me!” she babbled as she threw her arms around his neck and gave him a squeeze. He didn’t even try to resist her, or pull away. And when she rocked back and forth, he rocked with her.

Finally she slid her hands from his broad shoulders down his arms until her hands were in his. She was still too giddy and she jumped up and down a few times.

“Are you alright?” he asked, no longer sure that she was, however bemused he was by her odd excitement.

“I’m fine! I’m great!” she elated. “And she’s great; and you’re great! And I know this sounds crazy, but I think I love her! I mean I seriously want to just wrap her up in my arms and hold her. I want to teach her things, and read to her, and dance with her—.”

Data cut her off, abruptly kissing her with a forcefulness she would never have guessed he was capable of. He was crushing her body against his and she collapsed into him, her frantic energy forgotten. 

All she wanted was to give him whatever he would take from her. She let his tongue explore her mouth as she let her hands find his chest. She then fisted her hands into the fabric of his uniform to help anchor herself to him while her knees went weak. It was forlorn and full of longing and her heart ached for him.

As suddenly as it began, it was suddenly over. He let her go and turned his head away from her. She stood unmoving with her hands still holding tight to his shirt front. 

“Apologies,” he said with a measure of shame. “I did not mean to do that. I know you are Geordi’s girlfriend. Please do not tell him that I kissed you,” he begged.

“Data,” she whispered softly. “How long have you wanted to do that?”

“It is not important,” he told her with self-deprecation. “I should not have done it. Please release me.”

Vivienne looked down at where she was holding his shirt, her knuckles turning white from the tension in her hands. She let go of his shirt and flexed her hands a few times. Clearly she was feeling as passionate as he was and she felt ashamed as well.

“No. I won’t tell Geordi if you don’t want me to,” she assured him. “I care about him too much. I would never want to cause a fight. You’re his best friend.”

“Good, then we agree. It never happened.” 

His words echoed through his positronic brain, sounding all too like those that Tasha Yar had once told him. ‘It never happened’. It was like he finally understood. She did care for him, but it would have been messy if they pursued a relationship since she was his subordinate. Vivienne was not his subordinate, but she still belonged to someone else. Even if they broke up, he couldn’t exactly pursue his best friend’s ex either.

She gave him a curt nod, but continued to look shaken. “Are you alright? Do you want to talk about it?” she pressed, not wanting to dismiss him too easily.

“I am fine,” he said rather unconvincingly. 

.....

Vivienne met with her boyfriend in Ten Forward for dinner. When she joined him at the table he was laughing at something he was reading.

“What’s so funny?” she asked, sounding annoyed.

Geordi looked up from his PADD. He hadn’t realized she was there already. He promptly leaned over and tried to give her a kiss. She turned away slightly and he had to settle for the apple of her cheek.

“You okay? Something happened with Lal?” he inquired with anxiety. 

“No, Lal was amazing,” she assured him. “She’s seriously a freaking miracle.”

“Alright, good. So what’s up?” he pressed

She thought about Data’s heart stopping kiss as she stared at her knuckles. “Nothing...maybe I just have...what’s it called? Imposter syndrome?”

Geordi put an arm around her to lend his sympathies. “Yeah, I get it. You don’t exactly feel like you deserve her. Like she’s too wonderful and she should look to Data for everything, but now suddenly, she’s looking to you and you just don’t feel worthy.”

She looked into his VISOR and smiled sadly. “Yeah. That’s it exactly. I’m so glad you understand.”

She touched his cheek and kissed him chastely, on the lips this time. 

“You’ll get used to it. In time it will feel more natural.”

“I hope you’re right,” she sighed. Then she recalled that she had heard him laughing about something. “What were you reading?” she added as she eyed his PADD.

“Oh, I got a very long winded letter from Commander Bruce Maddox,” he explained. “Man, does that guy know a lot of big words.”

“Sounds to me like he not only knows them, but enjoys using them too,” she surmised.

“You got that right.”

“Why is he writing to you?”

“Basically because Data isn’t.”

Vivienne looked confused. “Does Data usually correspond with one of the leading cyberneticists at Daystrom?”

“Yeah. He has been for a few years now. So it’s kinda not great that he’s gone radio silent right when he started working full tilt on Lal.”

“Oh...because now Maddox wants to know what’s up?”

“Exactly,” Geordi said with concern. “But I had to laugh. He’s so pompous and self-righteous. Like now he expects me to spy on my friend to tell him what’s been going on.”

“That arrogant bastard,” she grumbled. “I guess Data had better talk to him before he gets on a transport and invites himself for a visit.”

“You took the words right out of my mouth. I should go talk to him.”

“Good idea. I’ll come with you.”

“I thought you two were done for the day?” he questioned. “Can’t get enough, huh?”

Vivienne felt a wave of guilt and heat shoot through her. “What?” she retorted nervously.

“Lal,” he whispered. “You’re becoming obsessed.”

“Oh, well...can you blame me?” she joked.

“Nope,” he affirmed. Then he leaned in, managing to get a proper kiss this time.

Vivienne tried to ignore the worry she was feeling. She really did adore Geordi; he was everything she wanted in a boyfriend. Data was just confused. Lal had asked about calling her ‘mother’ and she had been so excited by her experience that he must have gotten carried away with her. If Data said it never happened then she had to pretend it never happened.

......

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Two today...how is everyone doing? I hope that you are all well. I had lofty plans for this story, but now I’m not sure how much longer I will continue on with it. I will see. Please let me know if you have any thoughts or feedback. It is always appreciated :)


	14. Wayward Android

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Data is confronted with his recent behaviour changes. He decides a session with Counsellor Troi may help him better understand how to proceed.

Geordi paid his friend a visit. It was time they get a few things sorted. Vivienne came along, though she felt a little out of place for some reason as the two chatted.

“What do you mean? Is Maddox harassing you?” Data asked, after Geordi filled him in.

“Well, not yet, but Data this might blow up in your face,” he explained. “The best way to hide Lal from Daystrom is to play along and feed them slow drips of information; not cut them off completely.”

“I have not cut him off,” Data said distractedly as he checked over his daughter’s latest diagnostic. “I have simply been otherwise occupied. You may feel at liberty to tell him that.”

“You know what,” said Vivienne, deciding she didn’t want to involve herself. “I’m going to see to the zoo and start taking it down.”

Data’s head snapped to attention. “Wait, Viv. Did you not imply that at some point that you would like to show Lal your creations before you send them on to their next location?”

“Yeah, well...” She was stalling for some reason. She was never a person to back down from conflict, but she really didn’t want to suddenly be the reason for it either. “I’m just going to get started. You know assess if any last minute repairs, or any such thing is needed.”

“You need to do maintenance right now?” questioned the android.

“What difference does it make, Data?” Geordi huffed with frustration. “She wasn’t actually contributing anything because she doesn’t know Doctor Maddox, or how to deal with him.”

“Do you always disparage your girlfriends?” he countered, sounding quite miffed.

“Hey, whoa. Time out,” Vivienne said signalling with her hands to gain their attention. “No one is disrespecting me, okay? Geordi’s right. I don’t know what sort of working relationship you have with that man and you two should probably talk privately.”

“You came back to see Lal this evening then?” Data asked, changing the subject.

“No. I know that she’ll be offline until the morning,” she replied. Geordi flashed her a look as though encouraging her to go. “I came to spend time in my boyfriend’s company, but I can see now that was not a good idea. So I will see you later,” she said with insistence.

Vivienne continued her retreat and left the two to their own devices.

“She was talking to me by the way, in case that wasn’t clear,” Geordi informed his friend when they were finally alone.

Data shot him a look of confusion before he understood. “She could have been referring to seeing me tomorrow morning,” he said, practically pouting.

“What is with you?” Geordi asked sharply. “I know Lal has basically been consuming your life when you’re not on duty, but I have never known you to be so broody and...rude before.”

“Rude?” Data repeated as though he had no concept of what his friend was referring to. “When was I rude?”

“Just now, to me,” Geordi replied tersely.

“I was not rude,” the android said dismissively. “You were rude to Viv. You flat out implied that she was not contributing.”

“To the conversation.”

“I think you made her feel uncomfortable.”

Geordi rolled his eyes unseen behind his VISOR. “Do you want me to message Maddox and tell him...that you’ve simply been preoccupied with a side project?”

“Yes, that would be most helpful,” said Data evenly.

“And what should I tell him when he goads me for more information?”

“You could fib and say that I have been assisting Vivienne with her zoo project. Tell him that I was fascinated by the automatons and I simply could not be bothered to continue with my routine tasks until the zoo departed.”

“Great, whatever,” huffed Geordi.

“Why are you so frustrated? I thought you said you were having sexual relations with your girlfriend?”

“There you go again. Why are you so interested in my relationship with Viv?”

“Because...” Data hesitated, he almost never hesitated. “Because you are my best friend and I want you to succeed. That is why I kindly warned you not to put her down.”

“Oh really? That’s why you told me that? ‘Cause I think something else is going on here.”

Data stopped reviewing his endless stream of information from the computer and turned all of his attention on his friend. He suddenly wondered if maybe Vivienne had told him about their illicit kiss.

“What do you believe is going on?” Data queried, as he tried not to drop his perfectly serene facade.

“I think that your being greedy,” Geordi told him, crossing his arms over his chest. “You want to have your cake and eat it too. Maybe you don’t realize it yet, but I can see it. The way you told Viv to keep her zoo operational for Lal. The way you wanted her to tell you her real reason for coming down here again tonight.”

“I...do not follow...”

“These sorts of relationships take time, buddy. You can’t force someone like Viv into something so important. Besides, you don’t need to. She told me that she’s already smitten. She just needs to come to terms with how much this means to her and how it will change her life.”

Data could not believe what he was hearing. It sounded as though Geordi was not so much upset about their kiss as he was supportive to a possible burgeoning relationship.

“You were not angry at all when she told you about what happened after her tests with Lal? And you are willing to...share your girlfriend with me?”

Geordi’s big brother affection began to muddle with frustration again. “Share her with you? No, Data, I’m talking about Lal,” he clarified, concerned that things were not so black and white. “I was saying that she loves Lal already, but it’s a lot for her to get used to. What happened AFTER her tests with Lal?”

“Nothing. Nothing unusual happened,” Data fibbed. The android did not condone lying to his best friend, but he was too concerned that stopping now would be worse.

“Okay, so if I asked Vivienne...she’ll say that nothing happened?”

“I am so very pleased that you think Viv only needs more time to ease into her new role,” Data ranted, side-stepping the issue. “I value your opinion. In fact, do not concern yourself with Bruce Maddox. I will speak to him myself.”

“No, I think that would be a really bad idea,” noted Geordi.

“Oh, how so?”

“‘Cause you’re being all kinds of weird, verging on twitchy.”

“Twitchy? How so? Have I developed a physical spasm of some kind?” The android quickly ran an internal self-diagnostic. He hadn’t picked up on any anomalies, but it could be something new.

“Not yet,” his friend said with suspicion. “Data, you remember what I said the other day about how I wanted you to tell me of you had feelings for Viv?”

“I remember, Geordi. I remember every single one of our conversations.”

“Okay and has anything changed?”

“I am still an unemotional android,” Data told him like some sort of preprogrammed response.

“Nah, I don’t think that’s true. I see the changes all the time now. It’s subtle, but I can tell that you have real feelings in that android heart of yours. Otherwise, you wouldn’t be doing everything possible to try and cover up whatever it is you almost let slip. Because if you didn’t give a fig about hurting MY feelings you would have told me already.”

“Geordi...please stop. It is so very irrelevant,” he begged.

“Let me guess you kissed Vivienne and she was shocked and rejected you? Am I close?”

Data looked so unbearably sad as he made himself look away. “Yes, Geordi,” he whispered, full of shame. “That is exactly what happened. Vivienne only cares for you. I asked her not to tell you because it was my error in judgement and she should not take the blame.”

Geordi’s smarmy attitude dissipated in a cloud of empathetic humility for his friend. Even though he had guessed right, he never would have believed that was really what had happened. 

“Gosh, Data...I’m sorry. Was she nice about it at least?”

“Yes, she was quite considerate,” he muttered.

“I know it smarts when a beautiful person that you feel connected with doesn’t return your affections.”

Data could still see her hands groping his shirt and he knew deep down that this was not the case. However, Vivienne had committed herself to Geordi first; just as he had. He had no right to try and steal her from him, nor would his ethical programming allow him to do something so awful.

“Yes, it is quite disappointing, but I do praise her for her commitment to you and her loyalty to me as her friend for not telling you.”

Geordi pulled him into a hug to show that he wouldn’t hold a grudge. As Data hugged him back, he wondered how difficult it was going to be in the future, seeing her everyday and knowing the desire that could easily spark between them. Worst of all he could never talk to Geordi about it. Maybe he could speak to Deanna instead.

......

“Vivienne? Geordi’s Vivienne?” 

They had barely sat down when Data laid out his whole sordid problem. How he never thought he would find an attraction to anyone and how it was so confusing to find himself wanting more than friendship with Vivienne; and how he recognized the problems this would create as they continued to work closely and essentially raise Lal together.

“Yes, Counsellor,” Data affirmed. “Geordi’s Vivienne.”

“And they’re quite assuredly together?” she prodded.

“Yes,” he answered simply.

“Do you think she has feelings for you?”

“I know that when I kissed her she collapsed into my embrace. Also I have not kissed anyone in such a fashion since Tasha. Even my brief entanglement with Jenna was mild comparatively.”

“Did you feel attraction for Jenna?” Deanna queried in that clinical way of hers.

“I did not as such,” he confessed. “We were good friends at the time and her proposition intrigued me. Though, I must also state that when she made the decision to end our romantic involvement...I was not as amicable on the inside as I was on the outside about it.”

“You mean to say that by the time she called it quits you actually did have a deeper respect, or desire to see things through.”

“Perhaps.”

“Then why did you let her break up with you, Data?”

He had to give it some thought. “Because...because she did not feel that I could give her the same emotional devotion that she craved. And she was not wrong. I still cannot, but it does not mean that I cannot find value in our time together, or want for a more complex relationship.”

“Data, how do you think these new found desires are going to affect your relationship with Ms. Grace?” she asked after digesting his newly revealed sense of yearning for something more. “Don’t you think involving her with your daughter’s care will blur the lines of friendship and intimacy?”

“I have been thinking about this very dilemma for several hours and I believe if I can resolve myself to fully acknowledge her importance to Geordi and only see her as Lal’s caring aunt and not as her mother then I will not make any further mistakes.”

“Had you considered her as Lal’s mother?” Deanna asked thoughtfully.

“No...not until Lal asked me if she should call Vivienne ‘mother’,” he admitted.

“And when your newly recovered daughter used this wonderful term of endearment, did it stir something in you?”

“Yes,” he whispered full of regret. “It should not have. It was an innocent mistake.”

“Data...when you kissed her, Viv, did she kiss you back?”

It was a simple question and Data had promised himself he would be honest with Deanna. If he couldn’t talk to her about his secrets he risked damaging his relationship with Geordi, or Vivienne further.

“I believe that she did. I believe that she surprised herself with how desirous of me she was.”

“You know, Geordi complained to me several weeks ago that he liked the woman, but she only seemed to have eyes for you,” Deanna said conversationally. “You must have witnessed this for yourself at some point.”

“I did, however I had no interest in her at the time. By the time I understood my own...desires...she was already dating Geordi.”

Deanna could almost feel his shame when he said the word ‘desires’. It was like it was something he wasn’t allowed to have when really it was one of the most human admissions he had ever made to her. It seemed altogether unfair.

“I think you need to talk to Vivienne,” she advised him. “I don’t think you should be left to wallow in your own unrequited emotions, such as they are.”

Data looked as though he was about to argue against her, but she continued on before he could interject. “I’m not saying that you should implore her to break Geordi’s heart, but I think you two need to address what happened so that you can move on from it and establish a healthy, happy relationship moving forward. I would hate for you to cut your losses and deprive Lal of knowing this woman better.”

“I understand,” he said quietly. “Thank you for your assistance.”

As he started to stand she caught his attention again. “Data, can I please come with you and see Lal?”

He smiled weakly and nodded. “Of course you may, I know she is eager to see you again.”

Deanna grinned from ear to ear. Now that their session was over she became his friend once more and hugged him fiercely. 

“You can do this,” she told him with confidence. “Just think what an amazing part of your family she can become. Sometimes sex and romance messes these things up. Just look at you and Jenna. She knew who you were when you were friends, but became complacent when she tried you on as her boyfriend. Just be content and enjoy your daughter. You worked so hard to get her back.”

“I will, Deanna. Thank you so very much for your kindness.”

“Anytime.”

......

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, this was a lot of dialogue. I hope it didn’t mess with the flow of the story :)


	15. Coming Clean

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lal visits the zoo. Data talks to Vivienne about their kiss.

Vivienne was making an adjustment to the fennec fox when Deanna Troi entered the zoo with Lal. She was holding the little girl’s hand, but the moment she spotted Vivienne with the fox Lal let go and ran over to get a closer look.

Lal came next to her new friend and resisted touching the animal without permission. Then she seemed suddenly worried. “What an unusual specimen,” she said with curiosity. “Is the fennec fox injured?”

Vivienne smiled as she realized that she had the robotic animal on its back as she examined the toes of one paw. “It’s okay Lal. It’s not alive,” she said softly.

Lal looked to Deanna and then back at Vivienne. “But it is blinking and his little nose is sniffling as though to get my scent. Is it a robot like me?”

Vivienne finished what she was doing and then let the fox right itself. “Lal, you’re an android,” she gently corrected her. “You are alive. This little fox is a robot, but more like a mechanical puppet. It doesn’t think, or feel. You can pet it. If you hold out your hand it is programmed to come and stand still for you.”

Lal’s bright eyes filled with delight as she gave it a try and the little creature did exactly as described. The sensor inputs in her hands were different than her old ones. Lal could get a better sense of the soft textures of the synthetic fur. 

“Do you think I could have one as a pet?” Lal asked quietly.

“I don’t think that your father’s cat would approve,” offered Deanna.

“I’m sorry, but Data has a cat?” questioned Vivienne with a measure of disbelief.

Deanna chuckled. “He never told you? All those hours together and he never mentioned Spot?”

“Nope. Never came up I guess.”

“Do not feel badly, Viv,” said Lal. “I have not met her yet either.”

Vivienne knew that the girl’s statement was only to make her feel better since this was literally her first venture out of the cybernetics lab. The very concept that the android would say something only to boost her morale was so endearing.

Deanna could feel the special bond that the other woman had for Lal. She watched in silence as Vivienne leaned down and kissed the girl’s temple. 

“Normally I don’t make my robots to be kept as personal pets, but maybe we could design a kitten for you,” she said playfully. “Or some other pet that Spot would like.”

Lal grinned. “Yes please,” she said politely. Then she stood up and went to look at the Komodo dragon. She took a moment to read the blurb beside the enclosure. “A real dragon? It does not have wings.”

Deanna and Vivienne laughed lightheartedly at her childish observation. 

“No. This sort of dragon doesn’t fly, or breathe fire,” Vivienne explained. “It is rather dangerous and deadly though. Well, not this one. This one doesn’t even have sharp teeth.”

Lal continued to go around the large room and Vivienne placed the fennec fox back where it belonged. Deanna came to stand beside her. 

They had only met once or twice in passing. Vivienne had never known an empath before and she always wondered what sorts of things Deanna knew about someone without ever speaking to them. She also secretly wondered what she knew about her since she was good friends with both Geordi and Data.

“Where’s Data?” asked Vivienne as though finally noticing that he wasn’t there with them.

“He was called to the Bridge. I thought it would be suitable to bring Lal to you since you are sharing in her care.”

“Thanks,” she hummed with appreciation. “Is Lal a lot like you remember her?”

“I remember Lal was quite social and welcoming of new people and situations,” Deanna told her. “It seems poetic that she’s now the embodiment of the wide-eyed adventurous little girl I always saw her as. So thank you for that.”

“Don’t mention it. I just can’t get over how far she’s come in just a few days,” Vivienne marvelled. “She is emoting far more than I would have estimated. I might have to upgrade her facial servos so that they can keep up.”

“That would be a little silly if her face got stuck in a certain expression,” Deanna observed. It was both amusing and deeply disturbing to think about such a thing happening.

“I think it’s more likely that she will lose the ability to move her facial muscles than freezing up. Either way...I’ll see what I can do. Maybe Data has a trick on how Soong has kept him going.”

“I’m sure he does,” Deanna mused. 

The empath watched Vivienne as she returned her attention to Lal. She quizzed her on her knowledge of the different animals and later she brought out her favourite, the little joey, to play. Then it was time to take her back to the lab, not wanting to overwork her.

Deanna accompanied them. She couldn’t sense any form of deception from Vivienne, only harmony and adoration. She would be sure to share her findings with Captain Picard. If this person really had any ulterior motives she was a master manipulator because Deanna didn’t pick up on anything. 

Vivienne went through the routine that Data had taught her. She had Lal stand on the platform and she connected to her systems remotely. Then she spoke reassuringly to the little android and switched her into her resting mode.

“It’s my hope that Data will install a portable device in her bedroom so that she can move into his quarters some day soon,” she rambled as she rejoined Deanna.

“It must be so hard for you to leave her here by herself,” Deanna prompted.

“Most of the time Data is here, or I’ll stay and do some other work,” she responded.

“Aren’t you meant to be packing up your exhibits?” 

Vivienne frowned. “Yeah, I have a colleague waiting to intercept them soon. So I really need to get going. But I am so glad that you brought Lal to see the animals today, even if her father wasn’t with her. I believe Lt. Barclay took a holo reel of the exhibits too so that anyone can visit on the holodeck in the future.”

“That’s very kind of him. I’m sure the children will enjoy that,” Deanna assured her. “How are you feeling about staying? This is a big change for someone who is so used to travelling.”

“I don’t think it’s really sunk in yet,” she confided. “But I’m hoping that I’ll adjust over time.”

“Well, I’m available if you ever need to talk,” Deanna offered.

Vivienne was sure she would take her up on that sometime.

.....

Data didn’t come to relieve Vivienne until quite late that afternoon. He rushed into the lab only to slow his pace when he saw Vivienne combing his daughter’s hair. There was something so natural and peaceful about the act. He hadn’t actually realized that Lal was ‘awake’.

“Hello Father,” Lal called.

The older android furrowed his brow momentarily. “Hello Lal,” he replied hesitantly. “Why are you not resting?”

“I am resting, however Vivienne adjusted my settings so that we could talk and get better acquainted.”

“Sorry, I probably should have asked you first,” she apologized.

“Not at all,” Data said kindly, “I trust your judgement.”

Vivienne moved away so that the two androids could have a moment together. Then Data switched Lal into her proper rest mode.

“She adores you, as you adore her, I think,” Data said almost lyrically as he came over to where Vivienne was seated at the work table.

“While I was waiting I started to design some simple elements for her room,” she said as she handed him a PADD. “I figured you could move her in sooner if you adapted some of the backup systems you use to help her keep on top of her higher cognitive functions.”

Data looked through her notes and schematics. The experience was reminiscent of all those weeks ago when she had shown him her designs for Lal. He could see that she essentially adapted her current workstation into what looked like the base of a bed; hiding the technology in plain sight.

“Remarkable. I do not know why I had not considered such a thing before,” he said, complimenting her efforts. 

“I figure once her room is ready we can ask Geordi to assist in the restructuring and then she can move in; like a real girl with her own bedroom.”

He handed the PADD back to her, their hands brushing against one another. She blushed a little and turned away. 

“So, if you’re good here,” she said as she headed for the door, “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Wait.” Data had been putting it off all day. Technically speaking his duties had made it essential that he wait to talk to her—as Deanna suggested—but he no longer had his work as an excuse.

“Yes?” Vivienne could see that he was struggling for some reason. So, she came closer to him again and sat down.

“I...you...” Data paused and closed his eyes before starting again. “You asked if I wanted to talk about what happened...when I kissed you. Originally I insisted that we pretend that nothing happened, however from experience I know this is not a good idea.”

“So, now you want to talk about it?” she surmised.

“I do not want to, but I believe it is important that we do,” he elaborated.

“Okay,” she said supportively. 

She dared to reach for his hand and he didn’t pull away from her. He probably should have, but he didn’t want to. Selfishly, Data wanted to feel her touch; her skin on his and her organic warmth against his cool synthetic membranes.

“I still firmly believe that I should not have kissed you,” he said with conviction. “I am certain that you agree.”

“I do...But...Data, it’s my understanding that Lal failed when her systems couldn’t keep up and adapt to the onslaught of strong emotions she was suddenly feeling when she believed she was going to be ripped away from you and her home,” she ranted. “And I’ve thought about what happened—a lot—and if you’re having strong emotions then I’m glad you expressed them. I hate to think what would happen if you tried to bury them.”

“I honestly had not considered this perspective,” he murmured.

“Yeah, well, most of the time it’s easy to forget that you’re an android, but after you kissed me with so much palpable human desire I had to remind myself that you were. Not to your detriment, but to realize your struggle was real and significant.”

“I have never known a truer friend than Geordi,” Data told her. “He had told me that he would give you up if I thought I had real feelings for you.”

She gave him a strange look of disbelief. “First of all, that’s not entirely his decision. Second of all...why didn’t you just tell him the truth, that you do have feelings for me?”

It was Data’s turn to look away. “I do not know. I suppose I did not believe that I should ask such a thing of him.” Then he managed to meet her gaze again. “Also, I had no reason to believe that you felt the same way. That you would give him up for me.”

Vivienne sighed and focused on his hand. It helped to recenter herself as she studied his pores, cuticles and nails. It made her think back to when she was constructing similar details on Lal’s hands. These were manmade people, but also so very much more that it was often frightening to think about it.

“Data,” she said with affection as she searched his face again. “I do have important, deep feelings for you; but I don’t know if they’re real or simply a manifestation of all of the time, effort and love we’ve put into Lal.”

“How is that not real? We have bonded over the creation of another life,” he said as he tried to sway her. “This is a very good reason to feel embedded in one another’s existence.”

“Look, I can’t figure this out all at once. I just can’t,” she told him frankly. “Let me live with your admission for a few days. I need to do some soul searching about how I feel for Geordi. Okay?”

“So, this is not a rejection...of either of us?”

“Exactly. Is that alright? Can you give me some time?”

“Yes. I will give you all the time you desire,” he said, his spirits lifting by a fraction.

“Okay.”

“Okay,” he echoed feeling uncertain, but a little less guilt stricken.

.....


	16. Endings and Beginnings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Vivienne makes a decision about which of the two friends holds her heart.

Vivienne needed a tool to seal her shipping crates. She came down to Engineering to see if she could borrow something. Since she wasn’t technically allowed in Main Engineering she tried to signal to get someone’s attention. Then she caught sight of her boyfriend.

The enthusiastic smile fell from her face as it dawned on her that Geordi was having one of his overly personal conversations with Sonya Gomez. The two were probably laughing at some inside joked that only they understood. 

It wasn’t that Vivienne was a petty person, or the jealous type, but it still stung to see him getting on so easily with the young, promising engineer while they were still struggling to make time for one another.

Sonya was talking with her hands and accidentally whacked her superior in the chest. As she tried to apologize, she hit him in the face. Geordi was forced to take both of the woman’s hands and hold them firmly against him. When he deemed that too personal, he tried to hold them against Sonya’s body, causing his knuckles to her brush against her breasts. That made him pull away completely.

Vivienne had had enough of their awkward shenanigans, but as she turned to leave she heard Geordi call her name.

“Viv? Vivienne, what are you doing here?” he called after her.

Vivienne spun to face him and she could just make out Sonya—her face tomato red—as she scrambled in the opposite direction.

“Geez, get a room next time,” Vivienne complained as she gestured at the frazzled ensign.

“What!?” Geordi blurted, glancing behind to see where Sonya was at. “Don’t start that again. I told you that we’re just friends.”

“Sure. Whatever,” she muttered rudely.

Geordi caught her arm and pulled her back to him. “Hey, what’s going on? Why are you here?”

“I needed a tool to seal my shipping crates,” she told him bluntly.

“Okay. Give me a minute,” he said evenly.

Vivienne tapped her foot with impatience while she waited. A minute or two later and Geordi returned, handing her a device.

“Thank you,” she said, a little nicer this time.

“You’re welcome,” Geordi replied. “You know, Data told me about what happened. If you two aren’t getting along please don’t take it out on me.”

Her hackles were up again. “What are you talking about? Me and Data are fine.”

“Good. Will I see you for dinner tonight?”

She blinked emphatically as her mouth hung open. “Unbelievable,” she scoffed. “So you assumed that my bad mood was because...Data was coming onto me and I didn’t like it?”

“Well, sort of, yeah,” he said, lowering his voice.

“You know, you are a super sweet guy and you make it so easy to fall for you, but you also make it impossibly difficult to get anything truly intimate from you as well.”

Now Geordi was terribly confused. “Hey, we’ve been plenty intimate,” he said with offence. “I don’t mess around in supply closets with just anyone.”

“I’m not talking about sex,” she snapped in hushed tones. “You give all the best parts of you to Data and Sonya and your team. What do I get? I get you when you’re tired, or you have five minutes to screw in a closet.”

“Hey, whoa.” It felt like she was coming out of left field and Geordi had no idea why she was attacking him. “Viv, if this is about Data...”

“It’s not. Okay, it is, but it isn’t all about Data,” she stumbled. “I don’t think we’re going to work out, Geordi. It’s quite clear that you’re already married to your work and you crew is your family. So, let’s stop now while we can still be friends.”

Geordi looked gutted. This was not the conversation he was expecting at all. “Okay...well, if that’s how you feel.”

“It is. I’m sorry. I really am. I was having a lot of fun with you and really do adore you, but I have to think of my relationship with Lal now. She has to come first.”

“And this relationship involves her father too, I guess.”

“Yes, and I plan to keep things as neutral with him as I will with you. Can you forgive me?”

“Eventually,” he sighed with resignation.

She leaned in and cupped his face. “You are such a good man. And I think one day you’ll stop fighting with yourself and you and Sonya will make a wonderful couple.”

He was about to rebut her claims, but she kissed him, cutting him off. It was a bittersweet kiss and most likely their last. So, Geordi held her to him and took all he could get. Then they let each other go.

“I really, really like you, Vivienne Grace,” he said with longing.

“Yeah, but you don’t love me; and that’s okay,” she said sombrely.

Geordi watched her walk away with the device in her hand. He was sorry to see it end and really believed they could have made it work. He was a hopeless romantic at heart and felt that maybe if he gave her the time and space she wanted she would come back to him. Stranger things had happened; maybe just not to him.

......

Time marched on and Vivienne managed to get her robots packed up and transported to the next location. She now spent her time helping to coordinate the upgrades to Data’s quarters while he was on duty. She stilled hadn’t really met Spot. The cat was being aloof and hid every time she let herself in.

Vivienne got to know Commander Riker fairly well since he was the designated officer for housing and such. He was a big help in requisitioning the furniture and dressings for Lal’s bedroom. She tried to keep things simple even when Riker tried to convince her that all little girls liked unicorns.

Data was allowing Lal to go to classes with other children her age. She was becoming friends with Worf’s son Alexander. Their friendship seemed to ground her in her new existence as a child and she was learning what it was to play and use her imagination.

Data found Vivienne and Lal in his daughter’s room. They were snuggled in together as the robotic specialist read the little android a story. He took a moment to process a few lines as the woman read aloud. It was ‘The Velveteen Rabbit’. 

Although Lal was capable of processing several dozen complex tasks and information far beyond the simplicity of a story meant for children he did not want to interrupt. Like the story of Pinocchio, the little rabbit was made real through his love of another and selflessness. It was a good lesson for anyone, especially an android. 

As he observed them he could understand the true value of having his daughter at home rather than remaining in the cold, clinical atmosphere of the lab. She looked content, cared for, and loved. She leaned her heavy head onto Vivienne’s chest, not because she needed to, but because she wanted to. She cuddled in close for the same reason. 

When the story ended Vivienne closed the book and hugged Lal. She tucked her into the bed securely and turned on her newly installed backup processor. As she came to the open doorway she smiled at Data with affection and had the computer shut off the lights.

“You can still say goodnight if you would like,” she whispered to him.

He smiled at her suggestion and quietly went to the little girl’s bedside. He stirred her and kissed her forehead. They said a few words and he returned, closing the door behind him.

“How do you feel?” she asked, quirking her head and looking into his yellow eyes.

He gazed back into her hazel orbs and continued to grin. “Complete,” he answered simply.

“Hmm, me too,” she said softly. “Thank you.”

“You want to thank me?” he questioned. 

“Of course. She’s your baby, so to speak. I’m just the consulting engineer.”

“You know that is not true,” he told her firmly. “We would not be a family without you.”

Vivienne looked away with a melancholic air. “Sure you would,” she retorted. “I should probably go,” she added after a beat.

“Go? Ah, yes. Geordi must be waiting for you,” he guessed.

“No...I don’t think that he is,” she mumbled. “We’ve...we’ve decided not to continue our romantic relationship. I’m worried about how it might complicate things if we got more serious and then broke up.”

“I do not understand? I thought he cared for you a great deal?”

“He does. That’s why we agreed to remain friends,” she explained, though she didn’t seem to be quite settled with the new arrangement.

“As long as you did not break up because of me,” Data prodded, conceding that his mistakes may consequently damage their future together.

“I think that Geordi belongs with Sonya, even if he isn’t ready to admit it yet. As for you,” she continued, stepping into his personal orbit. “You are unique and so is your daughter and I would never want to jeopardize my chance to remain in your lives.”

Data could sense her conflicting emotions. He had been around humans long enough to know when they were not completely on the same emotional page as what they were saying.

“Please do not take this the wrong way,” he said delicately. “But I sincerely hope that you will remain in both of our lives for years to come. In fact, I wanted to inform you that you are welcome to make use of my bedroom anytime that you stay late with Lal. It is slightly inconvenient as it is across the way from her, however it will negate the need to return to your quarters. I can add a small dresser for you as well.”

Vivienne felt overcome with the generosity of his simple gesture. She couldn’t keep herself from hugging him. Data slowly reacted, gently cradling her feminine form; not wanting to startle her. 

She moved away to look him in the eyes again. It was surreal how alive and full of love he appeared even though her brain told her that it was all some sophisticated programme. Even if he had evolved new subroutines and adapted nuances only for her, it was all rooted in technology.

She smiled at the thought that some of his behaviour was only for her. It was romantic really. He had invited her into his project; into his life and now into his home. 

“Data, please don’t take this the wrong way, but I’m not going anywhere,” she said, using his words in an odd playful manner. “In fact, I’m pretty sure that I’m in love.”

“With Lal,” he stated plainly.

“No, you silly man. With you,” she said with affection.

He took a few seconds to gauge whether, or not she was genuine, or simply poking fun. In the end he decided it was both.

“May I kiss you?” he whispered with shy uncertainty.

“I wish you would,” she whispered back.

Data leaned down to kiss her. It wasn’t as desperate as their first kiss, but it was still full of warmth and love.

When their lips parted they stayed in each other’s arms for quite some time. It was a comfortable silence, as Data listened to the rhythm of her heart.

“Are you really planning to build Lal a kitten?” he asked out of the blue.

“I was going to talk to you first, I swear,” she said with a nervous chuckle.

“I do not think Spot would like a kitten. She is quite particular of her space and toys.”

Vivienne continued to giggle into his chest. “We’ll find something else, okay? Don’t worry about Spot.”

“I must worry for her. She cannot advocate for herself. She is a cat.”

“Data,” she mused, as she tugged his chin towards her. “Do you have any idea how adorable you are?”

“No. No one has ever suggested that I was,” he replied with honesty.

“Well, you are, terribly so.”

This made the android smirk. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

..........

Sonya didn’t know every detail, but she could tell that things were rocky with Geordi. He was curt and snappy all week. Not his usually upbeat self.

So when Robin Lefler announced another girl’s night Sonya pushed all thoughts of surprising the Chief Engineer with more hot cocoa out of her mind. 

“You sure you don’t want to join us?” Robin asked as she checked her makeup in the mirror by the door.

“Nah, you know me,” Sonya told her roommate. “I tried it once and it was sort of fun, but not really my thing. Besides, I know you only go so you can tease Wesley about his busy hands all week afterwards.”

“He does have very naughty hands on the dance floor,” Robin said with a bemused smirk. “I’ve taught him well.”

The two women laughed at her joke because it was quite true. Then Robin was ready to go. “You’re really sure there’s nothing I can say to persuade you, even after how grumbly LaForge was all week?”

“Go. Have fun,” Sonya told her, practically shoving her out the door.

Sonya sighed as she leaned against the closed door. Then she headed for her sofa and back to the paper she was reading on phase differentials. She was half way there when the chime went in the door. 

“Don’t even bother, Ro Laren,” she started to say, assuming it was her other friend come to coax her into coming with. But as the door opened it was not the Bajoran helmswoman; it was Geordi.

“Oh hey, Boss,” she greeted him. “Sorry for the yelling. I thought you were Laren.”

“Yeah, I got that,” he said with a ghost of a grin. “Mind if I come in for a minute?”

Sonya stepped aside to allow him room to come inside her cabin.

“Look, Gomez,” he began with humility. “I wanted to apologize for my stony behaviour this week. I feel really bad about it.”

“It’s okay. I’m sure you have a lot of stress that we don’t always understand,” she said as she perched on the arm of her sofa. “We’re honestly just lucky that you’re so cheerful and easy going even when we make mistakes.”

“Yeah, well, I’m owning up to my mistake. I should have been more professional and I’m sorry.”

Sonya did her best not to chuckle at his strange apology. “Are you going to go around in person to everyone on your team? ‘Cause that could take all night.”

“No I’ll make amends to everyone in the morning,” he explained, a grin breaking through his professional exterior. “I just wanted to make sure that we were okay.”

“I’m doing fine. Don’t worry about me,” she reassured him.

“But I do...I worry about you. All the time,” he confessed, mirroring her sentiment from the last time they were alone together.

Sonya understood right away that what he was saying had little to with his professionalism and more to do with their friendship. 

“Thanks, I’m good. I only hope that I didn’t cause any undo friction with your girlfriend the other day. She looked really mad for some reason, but I didn’t want to ask you about it because you were so grumbly.” She used Robin’s term, feeling it fit the bill.

“It wasn’t about you,” he said with mixed emotions. “It was about me. Vivienne broke up with me.”

“Oh no, that’s terrible.”

“Tell me about it,” Geordi whined. “I’ve been hoping she would change her mind about it but she’s been so wrapped up with Lal and Data that I don’t think she regrets her decision.”

“Well, it’s her loss,” Sonya said supportively.

“Thanks. Hey, what do you say to making us some of your grandmother’s cocoa and we can play some 3-D chess or something?”

Sonya frowned slightly. “I’ll agree on one condition.”

Geordi raised a quizzical brow. “Oh yeah, what’s that?”

“We go to your quarters,” she said sternly. “In a few hours Robin will be back and she’ll probably have Crusher with her.”

“Right, gotcha,” he chuckled.

“Hey, Boss,” she added as they headed for the door. 

“Yeah, Gomez?”

“Thanks for coming to see me...you know for apologizing and all.”

“It’s what you deserve. And if I’m honest, selfishly I missed your company.”

Sonya smiled brightly, her cheeks flushing. “Me too.”

Geordi took her hand as they left the safety of her cabin. She let him hold it all the way back to his swanky senior officer quarters, like they were high schoolers walking down the school corridor. It was just the sort of gesture she needed. It was perfectly her speed, he knew her so well.

~~END~~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to everyone who stuck with this one. I thought I would end it with fluff and happiness.


End file.
